


A Heated Bargain

by Emilia_Rowan



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alpha Kara Danvers, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, F/F, Fake Relationship, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Minor mentions of drug use and drinking, Omega Lena Luthor, Pregnancy, no powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:55:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23465752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emilia_Rowan/pseuds/Emilia_Rowan
Summary: Kara has spent her entire life preparing to take control of her late parents’ company, El-Corp, but before she can become CEO, a clause in her father’s will states that she must have a family of her own. Kara’s not interested in love, but she’s willing to do just about anything to keep her family’s company.Lena has spent years hiding from the Luthors and working on a revolutionary medical project, but when her funding runs out she’s desperate to find some way to continue her research and maintain the freedom she clings to.A deal is negotiated and a bargain made. But while dealing with secrets, subterfuge, and ghosts from their pasts, can these two really keep their agreement and not fall in love?
Relationships: Alex Danvers/Kelly Olsen, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 327
Kudos: 1827





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [butchlesbian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/butchlesbian/gifts).



> I wasn’t planning on beginning another story (famous last words) but I received a prompt from a reader and BOY HOWDY did my brain run with it.
> 
> I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think in the comments!

“This is complete bullshit!”

Kara stormed out of the office, drawing the eyes of every employee in the main space. Heads poked up over the tops of cubicles like meerkats on the savannah as the irate alpha stormed past them, down the hallway, and into the restroom. She paced the small sitting area outside the toilets, fighting the urge to hurl one of the atrocious pink-upholstered chairs across the room or slam her fist into the closest mirror. It had been years since the last time she committed any property damage, but it had also been years since she had been this angry.

The door opened and her aunt entered the room, looking like Kara’s opposite in almost every way. Her blue eyes were cold and calculating where Kara’s were flaming with emotion, her dark hair was down in immaculate curls where Kara’s blonde locks were rapidly escaping the ponytail she kept them in, her suit was impeccably crisp where Kara’s clothes were rumpled and disarrayed.

“What?” Kara demanded as her aunt’s passive expression just stoked her furor.

“Do you really think such an outburst will change things?” Astra asked patiently. “If anything it just proves your parents’ point— you aren’t ready.”

Kara snorted. “They’re dead, how could they possibly know if I’m ready or not? And how can _you_ say that I’m not ready? I’ve worked for this company for years, just like they asked. I’ve worked in every department, at every level. I know my employees, I _respect_ my employees, from the custodians who clean up in the evenings to Phipps up there in the executive suite— I don’t _like_ him, but I _respect_ him. How can you say that I’m not ready to lead this company?”

“You’re impulsive,” Astra said evenly. “You charge into quarrels without thought. When you believe you’re right, you refuse to listen to the advice of others. You think of your employees in your decisions, yes, but you often lack the ability to see how your decisions will play out in the long run. It’s not that you’re not a good leader for this company Kara— it’s that you could be better.”

“And you think having a mate and a child would make me better?” Kara demanded.

Astra clenched her hands in thought. “Your parents thought so. I know you weren’t old enough to remember them the way I do, but you’re very similar to Zorel. He was a good leader, but impulsive, smart, respectful, but he lacked vision. When he and Alura mated, it changed him, and when they had you… Suddenly he had more to think about than just himself, he had a _legacy_. I imagine when they wrote this clause, they believed that they would be here with you when this time came, that they would be able to guide you.”

“But they’re not,” Kara said bitterly. “I have you, though. Surely there’s something you can do about this, Aunt Astra.”

Astra sighed. “I’ve spoken to the attorneys. Your father’s will is ironclad, Kara. Contesting it would put us in litigation for years, it would mean removing you from the company for that time and leaving you with less than you have now. Not to mention the press for the company and how it would affect our numbers.”

“So the easiest thing to do would be for me to just accept it, is that what you’re saying?” Kara asked.

“You know, having a mate and children isn’t exactly the end of the world,” Astra told her. “If I remember correctly, there was a time when you wanted just that.”

Kara bristled. “Yeah, well, that was a long time ago.”

“To you, perhaps,” Astra shrugged. “Of course, to me it wasn’t very long ago when we were playing hide and seek in the gardens at your father’s estate and you were little more than a flaxen-haired pup. Now here we are discussing business negotiations and mates.”

Kara sighed, sitting in one of the ugly pink chairs. She pulled her hair loose and pulled off her glasses so she could pinch the bridge of her nose, hoping to alleviate the headache she could feel coming on. “So I have…”

“One year, well, slightly less,” Astra told her. “You must obtain a mate and produce a pup by your thirtieth birthday, or your shares in the company are forfeited.”

“And how exactly do I get that done in less than a year?” Kara demanded, though her earlier anger had faded slightly.

“Well you’ve known about this clause in your parents’ will since your eighteenth birthday, so forgive me if I don’t pity you for procrastinating,” Astra said. “But if you at least have the mate part, perhaps we can push a bit on the heir part of the contract. Conception can be a tricky thing, balancing heats and ruts and…”

“I’m aware,” Kara grumbled. She stiffened her spine and stood, smoothing down her blouse and trousers. Astra circled around her and began gently pulling her hair back into a neat updo, her long fingers soothing along Kara’s scalp much like she remembered her mother doing when she was a child.

“There,” Astra said as Kara replaced her glasses. “Now, go apologize to Ms. Moran and her associates for your outburst. I won’t have my niece being seen as some beast of an alpha who can’t control her testosterone.”

“Of course,” Kara replied with a sigh. “And Aunt Astra… thank you.”

——

Lena hurried to the mailbox, heart pounding in her chest as she went. Somewhere several steps behind her, Jack dragged his feet as he took another drag on his blunt. Lena hated the things, the smoke alone made her eyes red and teary, but Jack swore they made him think clearer, which Lena was pretty sure was the opposite of what marijuana was supposed to do.

“Jesus, Lena, slow down,” the beta called as she rounded the corner into the apartment complex’s mailroom.

Lena just rolled her eyes and ignored his complaints. She forced her key into its slot and turned it with a practiced wiggle before the door popped open. She dug past the weekly circulars and Jack’s trash nudie magazines, ignored the multiple bills stamped with bright red PAST DUE warnings, until she finally found what she was looking for.

“Aha!” she exclaimed just as Jack finally entered the mail room. “Here, hold these.”

Jack grunted in surprise as she smacked the pile of mail into his free hand, but Lena ignored him. She ripped open the envelope in her hands, ignoring the burning paper cut she got in the process, and unfolded the papers inside, reading through the rigid sans-serif text with wide green eyes.

Her heart dropped further with every line she read, but she determined to make it to the end, just in case she missed something. Finally she straightened her posture, folded the letter, and replaced it in the envelope before placing it on top of the stack that Jack was already holding.

“We didn’t get it,” she said, turning and leaving the mailroom.

Her declaration seemed to break through Jack’s pot-induced fog. He followed her from the mailroom, moving much quicker than before, putting out his blunt by pressing it against the brick of the building.

“What do you mean, we didn’t get it?” Jack asked frantically.

“I mean we didn’t get it,” Lena repeated. “We didn’t get the grant, Jack. They gave it to someone else.”

“But… But that was…”

“Yeah, that was our last chance,” Lena said as they entered their apartment-turned-laboratory.

The living room and part of the second bedroom where Lena slept had been converted into a makeshift lab, full of computers and equipment and at least two fire extinguishers per room. In the kitchen, the oven had been pulled away from the wall in the kitchen to make room for a particle separator that required the reinforced outlet for it to run. The trash can was piled high with takeout containers and paper plates, and the pantry was stashed with every flavor of ramen imaginable, but not much else.

Lena grabbed the top pouch of chicken ramen and ripped the top off, placing the noodles into a microwave-safe bowl and filling it with water as Jack caught up with her, both physically and mentally.

“But… so… Okay, we didn’t get it,” Jack said, flitting around the room nervously. “What do we do now?”

Lena put her bowl in the microwave and leaned against the counter with a shrug. “There’s nothing we can do. Even that grant was just a crutch, something to keep us going for another couple of months or so. Without it, or money from somewhere, we’re done. The banks will repossess the equipment to cover their losses. I think it’ll settle our debts, at least, but it’s going to leave us with nothing.”

Jack clenched his fists. “So that’s it then?”

Lena shrugged again. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Jack! I told you, that grant was a long shot anyway because it’s for projects researching genetic diseases, not cancer.”

“Aren’t there more grants?” Jack asked.

“None that I’ve found, but feel free to join in the search if you think you can find any,” Lena challenged.

“Don’t be like that, Lena,” Jack groaned. “You know I’m shit at things like that. I do the grunt work and the brain work, you do the brain work and the paperwork.”

“I do my share of the grunt work, too, even if I can’t do any heavy lifting,” Lena grumbled as the microwave dinged. She drained off some of the excess water and mixed in her packet of flavoring.

“What about businesses? Pharmaceutical companies?” Jack asked.

“Lord Industries is interested in buying the final product if it works,” Lena replied. “But Jack, they’re only interested in the _final product_. They might buy our research off us for less than it’s actually worth, but they have their own people for research and development. They’re not going to pay contractors for a project that may or may not work.”

“It’ll work,” Jack said with certainty. “It’ll work, you and I both know it.”

Lena sighed. “Yes, we know it. But convincing some smug CEO of that without any actual trials is going to be impossible, and you know that as well.”

“It wouldn’t be impossible if they knew who you were.”

Lena bristled. “Don’t go there.”

Jack let out a long breath. “I’m just saying, people might not put much faith in Lena Kieran’s inventions, but Lena _Luthor_...”

“You stop right there,” Lena said, pushing herself up from where she was leaning against the counter. “I am _not_ attaching the Luthor name to this project.”

“I’m just saying, your brother has the money to…”

“My brother gave me an ultimatum, work on his weapons projects or leave LuthorCorp,” Lena reminded him. “He’s not going to pour his company resources into our project to cure cancer, Jack. He’s not interested in saving the world, more like destroying it.”

“But maybe the name could get us in the door with some other companies, you know?” Jack asked.

Lena sighed. “Jack… If I use my real name, that means Lillian can track me down. I can’t… I can’t let her get her claws into me again. Not even for this.”

Jack’s shoulders slumped. “Alright… Alright, yeah, I get it.”

Lena sat in one of the lawn chairs in the corner of the room and sat her bowl of ramen on a TV tray. As she sipped at the salty-flavored broth, she racked her brain for ideas. Finally she sighed.

“There is one more thing we could try,” she said, “but I’d need you to be on your best behavior.”

“Anything,” Jack said with wide eyes.

“There’s another company in National City, El-Corp. They don’t have a huge medical technology department, but I know it’s something they’re looking to expand. They might be willing to take us on.”

“Hang on a minute,” Jack said, brows furrowing. “Isn’t that the company LuthorCorp is trying to drive out of the market?”

“Oh, yeah, Lex hates them,” Lena nodded.

“And they’re all the way in National City?” Jack said.

“Uh… yeah,” Lena said, swirling her spork around in her near-empty bowl. “I can get us plane tickets, but it’ll cost us our food budget for the next… well, forever, it’s basically all I have saved up.”

“Yes,” Jack agreed quickly. “Yes, let’s do it.”

“Okay, _if_ I can get us a meeting— and that’s a very big if, mind you— you have to swear you will not take anything with you that’s smokeable,” she said.

“I can get by with edibles,” Jack agreed, which didn’t sound much better to Lena.

“You will _not_ be high, or coming down from a high, while we give our presentation,” Lena added, and Jack nodded. “You will wear a suit—“

“ _Lena!_ ”

“—and you will trim that scraggly beard into something presentable. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Mum,” Jack replied, giving her a mock-salute.

“And you do not, under any circumstances, tell them that I’m a Luthor, or let them know how desperate we are,” Lena sighed. “If we do that, it’s game over.”

——

“This is insane,” Kara grumbled into her beer. She was smooshed on her sister’s sofa wearing faded sweatpants and a Midvale Monarchs track and field t-shirt. Two empty pizza boxes were perched precariously on the coffee table in front of them, along with several empty beer bottles.

“This is online dating,” her adoptive sister said, pulling her computer onto her lap. “Now, come on, what should I put on your profile?”

“I seek one omega who’s willing to be knotted and bred in the next ninety days?” Kara suggested sarcastically. “I mean, really, Alex, who’s going to agree to that?”

“Well, we could try your aunt’s suggestion,” Alex told her, gesturing to the dining room table where a stack of binders sat untouched. Apparently Astra had taken it upon herself, after the meeting with the company’s attorneys, to put together profiles for suitable candidates in Kara’s social circle that Kara could consider for a mate, and had put them all together in four convenient one-inch binders, complete with color-coded page dividers.

“Yes, we have binders full of women, that really makes me feel better about this process,” Kara said, leaning her head back against the sofa.

“Look, Kara, you have to start somewhere,” Alex sighed. “I know you don’t like it. And for your sake, I hate what they’re making you do. But, honestly… having a mate to come home to every night is pretty great.”

“Yeah, but you love Kelly,” Kara said, pulling a throw pillow into her lap. “It’s different for you. Your mating isn’t a business deal.”

“Yours doesn’t have to be,” Alex replied. “Who knows, you might meet someone you genuinely like and care about, whether it’s online or out of your aunt’s… binders. Who knows, the love of your life might be in the purple section of Binder A.”

“Nope, the purple section is all stuck up boarding school brats,” Kara replied.

“Hey, speaking of brats, pot meet kettle,” Alex said, poking her in the ribs. “But seriously, Kara, why do you seem so opposed to finding someone you might fall in love with?”

Kara snorted. “I don’t need to fall in love with them, I just need them to mate with me and give me a pup.”

Alex raised a brow at her. “Uh-huh. And this whole _I don’t need love_ attitude has nothing to do with a certain pretty, petite omega, does it? One by the name of Luc—“

“We are _not_ talking about Lucy,” Kara said firmly.

“I’m just saying, if that’s the reason you’re so against falling for someone, maybe you’re not as over what happened with her as you think you are,” Alex said with a shrug.

“If we’re going to talk about exes, let’s just talk about Maggie while we’re at it,” Kara suggested with fake enthusiasm.

“Totally different,” Alex replied confidently, taking a sip of her beer. “I’m totally over what happened with Maggie. You, on the other hand…”

“I don’t think you’re over it,” Kara said. “Why else would you be so anxious about Kelly wanting to start a family?”

“Wh— How did you know that?” Alex demanded.

“You’re not the only one who has weekly phone calls with Eliza,” Kara replied, sipping her own beer.

“Well it’s not… You know… We’re supposed to be talking about your problems, dammit,” Alex grumbled.

“And you’re the one who brought up an ex that is _not_ part of the problem,” Kara told her.

“Right,” Alex said skeptically. “So… Which option first, online dating profile or binders full of women?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena and Jack make their presentation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... kind of random: I made Kara’s last name Eliopoulos. And she’s of Greek descent. I know, I’m weird, but trying to make El a last name in a human AU was just not working for me. Idk... I really have no idea what I’m doing, as usual.
> 
> Edit: So, par the course with me, I now hate that I gave Kara this random last name so I’m changing it. I hate my brain.

“I swear, I’m going to kill you.”

Jack groaned, his face a sick shade of green beneath his freshly-trimmed beard. They were in the El-Corp office bathroom, it was five minutes until their meeting, and Jack had just lost the entirety of his lunch into the formerly-pristine toilet bowl.

“I followed all of your rules, Mum,” he said before heaving once again. “Who knew airplane sushi would make you this sick?”

“Literally everyone knows that, Jackie,” Lena sighed.

Jack stood straight and made his way over to the sink. He bent and awkwardly filled his mouth from the faucet, rinsing twice before gulping down several mouthfuls.

“I feel better now, I swear,” he said, standing to rinse his hands before splashing his face. “Don’t I look better?”

He slapped on a fake wide smile, showing perfect white teeth. Lena rolled her eyes at him.

“Here, have a mint,” she said, reaching into her bag. “And please tell me you stole some of that crap cologne from the hotel. You smell like vomit.”

“You know me so well,” Jack said, popping the mint into his mouth and digging in the pocket of his trousers for the small vial of cologne.

Lena checked her watch as he dabbed the cologne on his neck. “Alright, we need to go. Let’s do this.”

They had barely exited the restroom when a tall young woman with long brown hair approached them.

“Mr. Spheer, Miss Kieran?” she asked.

“Yes, that’s us,” Lena replied.

The woman smiled. “My name’s Nia. Follow me, please. The board is waiting for you.”

“And what exactly do you do here at El-Corp, Miss Nia?” Jack asked as they made their way through the hallway of the sleek building.

“I’m Miss Danvers’s personal assistant,” Nia replied.

“Which Miss Danvers?” Jack asked.

“Kara Danvers, although you might know her better as Kara Zorel, the majority shareholder,” Lena replied. “She’s next in line to be CEO too, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Somebody did their homework,” Nia said with a grin. “Kara’s grandfather started El-Corp as a small company on Krypton, a Greek island, thirty-seven years ago. Her father and uncle moved to the US, built it up, invested in a lot of scientific breakthroughs in the nineties, including buying Kara’s mother’s start-up. Sadly Kara’s parents, along with her uncle and aunt, died in a plane crash when she was a child. Kara’s aunt, Astra Inze, and her godfather, J’onn J‘nozzles, controlled her shares until she finished her education, and J’onn is still acting CEO until Kara decides to step into the position.”

“So they’ll all be in this meeting then?” Jack asked.

“Yes, along with a few others,” Nia replied.

“Any insider tips on who we need to impress?” Jack asked with a wink.

Lena rolled her eyes but Nia just blushed. “Dr. Eliza Danvers and Alex Danvers will be part of the meeting. They’re Kara’s adoptive mother and sister, respectively. Eliza heads the medical research department, and Alex is head over the weapons development.”

Lena’s head turned quickly. “I wasn’t aware that you developed weapons here.”

“Well, it’s not quite what all the other companies are doing. I’m not sure what you would call what we do here, to be honest,” Nia said with a shrug. “We build defensive weapons, mostly, things that can counteract what other companies are creating. For example, if LuthorCorp, one of our biggest business rivals, creates a missile with an incredibly accurate strike system, we create a device that can scramble that system and cause the missiles to miss their targets. Does that make sense?”

Lena sighed. “Yes, I’m much more comfortable with that.”

“Right, so impress the Danverses,” Jack said, as if he were still a college student studying for an important final. “And anyone we should look out for?”

Nia bit her lip. “Well, you’ll probably want to look out for Morgan Edge, although I’m not sure what good it’ll do. He’s very, um… How can I put this? Maybe Jack should do most of the talking when he’s involved.”

“Ah, a male chauvinist,” Lena surmised.

“Mmhmm, exactly,” Nia replied. They came to a set of large wooden doors at the end of the hallway. “Do you have your presentation on a flash drive? I’ll take it and give it to Winn, our tech guy, and he’ll get it going for you.”

“Right here,” Lena said, handing over the small device.

“Good luck,” Nia said with a wink.

“Thanks, love,” Jack said, winking back at her.

The conference room they entered was surrounded by darkened windows, and a large U-shaped desk dominated most of the space. Lena’s gaze swept over the room as her nostrils flared, picking up the scent of a couple of omegas and betas amongst the overwhelming musk of alphas. Her pulse picked up and she bit back a curse. She hadn’t just spent the last of their grocery money on their tickets to National City— she had also spent the money she had put aside for her heat suppressants on booking them a hotel. Her heat was still at least two weeks away, but she normally spent them cooped up with just Jack, and his beta scent didn’t stir her instincts the way the scent of an alpha did. It had been so long since she’d actually experienced an unsuppressed heat, and so long since she’d spent her heat with an alpha, that her instincts were in overdrive.

Thankfully, Jack was a beta, and completely unaffected by the scents in the room. Not only that, he was a natural-born salesman, and he worked the room with such skill that Lena could only shake her head. His father had been a door-to-door vacuum salesman, he had told Lena one night, and had sold thousands of the things in order to send his son to college and medical school, but the hereditary charisma was inescapable.

So after brief introductions were made, Lena sat back and let Jack make their pitch, demonstrating their hypothesis and what they had created so far. The microscopic nanobots put on quite the show as they swarmed around the room, and Jack played up the drama as he cut the palm of his hand only for the nanobots to swoop in and repair it.

Once his display was complete, he turned it over for Lena to deliver the scientific jargon— Jack understood it all perfectly, but Lena was much clearer in her delivery of the advanced concepts, in spite of her hatred of public speaking. Lena addressed the entire room, but focused on making eye contact mostly with another omega— Dr. Eliza Danvers, a blonde, middle-aged woman with kind blue eyes. She was seated between two younger female alphas, her daughters, one with short auburn hair, and the other with blonde hair and dark-rimmed glasses. They both made Lena’s blood burn hot, so she focused on the woman between them and her occasional encouraging smiles.

When she was finally finished speaking, they opened the floor for questions, and immediately a brunette woman with a streak of white in her hair spoke up.

“Are you aware of any other products on the market like your nanobots?” Astra Inze asked.

“None whatsoever,” Jack replied proudly. “We’ve made subtle inquiries with several medical and tech companies— Lord Industries, Palmer Tech, Star Labs— and none of them are even working on anything like this.”

“Have you looked into any other uses for your nanobots tech besides medical?” Alex Danvers spoke up.

“Not at this point,” Lena told her.

“That’s not to say there are none,” Jack interjected. “I could imagine many platforms for the software— information gathering, military—“

“I’m not particularly comfortable with our tech being weaponized,” Lena interrupted. “I’m not saying that it’s off the table just… That’s not something we’re looking into at this time.”

Jack shot her his patented _WTF?_ look but she ignored him. The questions continued from everyone in the room except for the blonde, glasses-wearing alpha. Overall it actually seemed to be going well, much to Lena’s surprise and elation, and she could tell from the near-incredulous glint in Jack’s eyes that he felt the same way.

That was, until the smarmy-looking male alpha at the end of the table, spoke up.

“Just a couple of questions from me,” Morgan Edge said, flipping through his papers. “I have an acquaintance who works for Lord Tech, and he tells me you’ve also approached them for backing for this product.”

It wasn’t a question, but he paused as if waiting for an answer.

“Yes, that’s true,” Jack replied.

“And they refused you,” Edge said, pausing again.

“Or else we wouldn’t be here,” Jack said with a shrug and his usual good-natured humor. The acting CEO, J’onn J‘onzz, chuckled, and Edge grinned widely, but no one else in the room reacted.

“And yet they decided not to invest in such a revolutionary product,” Edge continued. “I wonder if it was because there have been no human trials?”

Lena felt a bolt of uncertainty run down her spine, but she schooled her features. Beside her, she could see Jack’s fists clench.

“Tell me, Mr. Spheer, why haven’t you conducted human trials yet?” Edge asked.

“Well, obviously you’ve seen the bots work on me with your own two eyes, and Lena here has been a guinea pig as well,” Jack replied with their rehearsed answer. “We just haven’t had the resources to be able to insure ourselves and offer compensation to human trial participants. We’re confident that if we can get trials up and running, they will be a resounding success.”

“Is that true, Miss Kieran?”

Lena was startled by the voice. Her eyes darted up to the blonde who, up until this point, hadn’t said a word in the entire meeting. Kara Zorel-Danvers stared at her with the most piercing blue eyes Lena had ever seen, and for a moment she was convinced that the woman could hear her increased heartbeat and would know if she was lying.

“It’s true,” Lena said, but then added. “Plus there is one small tweak that we need to figure out with the programming. But once we get that worked out, I’m sure it will be successful.”

“A tweak?” Dr. Danvers asked.

Lena glanced at Jack, who was once again giving her his _WTF?_ expression.

“Just a small issue,” Lena replied. The nanobots are programmed to work like a hive and so they must have a leader to work. Ideally they would be autonomous and find and repair injuries and sickness on their own. So far however…”

“Humans have to be the ones to input the directions,” Dr. Danvers surmised. “I gather that’s rather time-consuming? And the person inputting the orders would have to have very specialized training, both in medicine and computer programming, much like yourself, Miss Kieran?”

“Yes, exactly,” Lena replied. “But once the programming is fixed—“

“ _If_ the programming is fixed,” Edge interrupted. “You don’t know for sure if it _can_ be fixed. And I suppose that’s what the sticking point was for Lord Industries as well.”

“They told us to come back once we had figured out the programming and had the product tested,” Lena replied.

“However!” Jack interrupted loudly, sounding much like a British Billy Mays. “However, if your company acts now, you can get ahead of Lord Industries. You can get in on this now for less than you would spend on the finalized product _and_ a larger portion of the profits.”

“But with no guarantee that the final product is even possible,” Edge replied. He looked around the room. “I think everyone knows my vote.”

Lena glanced around the room, but she could tell by everyone’s facial expressions that they were disappointed but in agreement with Edge.

“All those in favor of investing in Spheerical Industries nanobot tech?” Kara asked, and no one around the table raised their hands. “All those against?”

Edge raised his hand quickly, and all around the table everyone followed suit. Dr. Danvers gave Lena a pitying look as she raised her hand, and finally the blonde alpha in the center of the table raised her hand as well.

“I’m sorry, Miss Kieran, Mr. Spheer, but the possible reward is not worth the risk at this time,” she said. “Come back when you have a finished product, and I can guarantee we’ll give you a better deal than Lord Tech.”

“Argh!” Jack shouted in frustration, startling everyone including Lena. “Don’t you understand? Without backing we’ll never have a finished product! Our lifes’ work will be nothing more than scrap!”

“Jack!” Lena exclaimed, hurrying over. “Jack, calm down!”

“I’m going for a drink, and then I’m going back to the hotel room,” he said balefully. “Give me a few hours, okay?”

He didn’t wait for a reply or a farewell, just pushed his way out the double doors roughly and disappeared into the hallway, leaving Lena standing forlornly in front of the El-Corp board. She looked around to see a mix of incredulous, disdainful, and pitying expressions.

“I apologize for my colleague,” Lena said quickly, gathering her things and tucking them back into her bag. The tech guy, Winn, crossed the room quickly and handed her the flash drive that held their presentation. “He normally handles himself with much more professionalism, but he had some tainted sushi on the plane and, um, as you can see it’s made him, uh, not quite himself.”

“Thank you for your time, Miss Kieran,” J’onn J’onzz said. “Please tell Mr. Spheer we hope that he makes a full recovery. Please do consider coming back to us if you’re able to finalize your product, we are very interested in investing once the kinks are worked out.”

“Of course,” Lena replied. “Right, thank you, and thank you for your consideration. Goodbye.”

Lena shuffled from the room, holding her bag awkwardly. She tried to hold in her emotions until she exited the building, but didn’t quite make it. She tucked herself into the bathroom by the elevators, the same one Jack had thrown up in before the meeting, and took a moment to cry and release her disappointment. She didn’t need to wallow, just needed a moment to get it out of her system. Once she was all cried out, she shoved her emotions down deep, fixed her makeup in the mirror and adjusted her ponytail, put her bag on her shoulder, and made her way back to the real world.

“Oh, Miss Kieran!”

Lena looked up sharply at the sound of her name. Nia, Kara Danvers’s assistant, hurried toward her.

“Did I forget something?” Lena asked.

“No, it’s not that,” the younger woman replied. “Kara asked me to give you this.”

Lena looked down and took the proffered item from Nia’s hand. It was a business card, with the El-Corp logo— a strange, S-shaped symbol that Lena didn’t completely understand— and Kara Zorel-Danvers’s contact information embossed on one side.

“Thank you,” Lena said blankly, unsure why the company’s future-CEO was giving her a business card.

“Turn it over,” Nia stage-whispered conspiratorially.

Lena did as she was told, revealing writing on the back.

_Dinner. 7:00. Mazzini’s on Fourth and Vine.  
I have a proposition for you. -K_

An unbidden shiver of nervous excitement ran down Lena’s spine as she finished reading the note. She looked up at Nia to find the beta watching her with wide, expectant eyes.

“Can I give her your reply?” Nia asked.

“Tell her I’ll see her at seven,” Lena replied. “I look forward to it.”

——

Kara sighed as yet another project proposal ended. The board met to do these meetings once a month, and every time she was bored to tears by nine out of ten of the projects presented. Not to mention it was yet another reason to see her aunt.

Two weeks had passed since she and Astra had met with the company’s lawyers to review her father’s will and in those two weeks Astra had hounded her about finding a mate. Normally Kara adored her aunt and looked forward to riveting conversations with the woman, but now she just wanted to avoid her at all costs.

“Have you thought anymore about the Smythe woman?”

Kara fought the urge to groan as she turned to look at her aunt. She had strategically seated herself so that John Jones, her godfather and acting CEO of her family’s company, would be sitting between her and Astra, hoping he would act as a physical buffer. But Astra was leaning across the table in front of him, invading the puzzled man’s personal space, in order to whisper to Kara.

“I’m sorry, who?” Kara asked.

Astra just scowled at her. “Siobhan Smythe. Her father is a real estate mogul from Ireland. I marked her file in the binder with a star because I thought she would be a particularly suitable candidate for you. Her family is in town for the day and I thought I would arrange for the two of you to go out to dinner tonight, get to know each other—”

“Aunt Astra!” Kara grumbled, but before Kara could argue any further, J’onn cleared his throat and they looked up to see Nia leading in their next— and final— presenters for the day. Kara’s nostrils flared as she breathed in the sweet smell of omega and her alpha instincts immediately had her looking around the room for its source. Behind Nia was a tall, bearded beta and, beside him…

Kara’s breath caught in her throat as she watched the female omega enter the room. She was dressed simply and modestly, in charcoal slacks and a burgundy button up, but the ensemble did nothing to hide the perfect curves underneath, and the buttons on the chest of the woman’s blouse pulled as the soft swell of her breasts strained against the fabric. Her silky dark hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail that Kara could almost imagine gripping as the woman’s full lips spread around her—

“Hello, Jack Spheer, pleasure,” the beta said, smiling widely and holding out his hand in greeting. Kara shook herself from her inappropriate train of thought and turned to return the man’s greeting.

“Kara Zorel-Danvers,” she replied.

Jack nodded and continued making his way around the table, introducing himself. Kara looked around for the omega once again. She was speaking to Winn over by the docking station, making sure their presentation was set up correctly, and the male omega gave a chuckle of laughter at something she said. Once they were finished, the woman made her way around the table in the opposite direction of Jack, making her own introductions. That meant that she shook Morgan Edge’s hand first, and Kara had to fight down a growl and a surge of dominant pheromones as the older male alpha wrapped both hands around the omega’s, holding her there for an uncomfortable moment before allowing her to move on to the next person at the table.

When the woman finally made it to where Kara was sitting, Kara did her best to school her features.

“Lena Kieran, Miss Zorel-Danvers,” she said, shaking Kara’s hand firmly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“You know who I am?” Kara asked, a bit surprised.

Lena smiled. “Of course. I did my research on El-Corp, and all the work that you’re doing. Your work on clean energy is fascinating, as well as your philanthropic endeavors in sub-Saharan Africa.”

Kara just stared, slightly shocked and a little bit enamored with the woman, before awkwardly realizing that she was still holding the omega’s hand.

“Right,” Kara said. “Well, Miss Kieran, believe me when I say the pleasure is all mine.”

She released the omega’s hand and immediately missed the feeling of soft skin and long fingers against her own. Lena continued down the line, and Kara couldn’t help but watch her. This omega was certainly a lot more than a pretty face.

Her thoughts were confirmed as the pair made their presentation— a revolutionary system using nanobots to treat a variety of medical ailments, from repairing a simple cut or fracture to destroying cancerous tumors. Jack was clearly the salesman of the two, and he did his job very well. But when Lena stepped up it was clear that while Jack was the brains behind the medical aspect of the project, Lena was the one who knew the nanobots and their programming inside and out. It fascinated Kara like few other projects had before, and she was very close to being sold on the endeavor, as she could tell most of the other board members were too, until Morgan Edge spoke up.

Kara had no love for Morgan Edge. He was a real estate mogul at heart, only joining the board with El-Corp when they began dabbling in restoring poorer districts in National City. Kara also knew that if she were to fail in taking over her parents’ company, and her stocks were put up for grabs, it would be Morgan’s grubby little fingers that reached into the pot first.

But she couldn’t deny that he made a good point about the nanobot project, even if she detested the smarmy way he went about addressing it. As much as she was interested in the project, and as much as she felt some kind of faith in the pair that they would eventually solve the problem with the programming, she had to make the best decision for her business. And right now, they couldn’t afford to invest in a product that may or may not work as promised.

She expected the pair to be disappointed. What she didn’t expect was the beta’s desperate outburst and for him to flee the boardroom. It was something she would expect from a lesser alpha or even a hormonal omega, but certainly not a beta. He left the entire board slightly stunned, but none of them looked as stunned as Lena. The omega quickly collected herself, saying something about bad airplane sushi which, honestly, Kara could relate to. But even as she thanked them for their consideration and packed up her things, Kara could see the moisture beginning to bubble up in the woman’s pale green eyes, and it sent a shot of discomfort through her heart.

Kara was a fixer. Alex always said she was good at figuring out ways to fix other people’s problems, though she was less talented at figuring out her own. And right now she just wanted to help the omega in front of her. It wasn’t just because Lena was a pretty omega, though that was certainly part of it. It was also the project itself, something so brilliant, and clearly Lena had poured her life into creating it. Kara could understand that. She had poured her life into trying to take over El-Corp, and now she was just a few months from possibly losing it. She could definitely relate to what the omega was feeling— they were practically in the same boat.

And then the proverbial lightbulb flickered to life above Kara’s head. At first she tried to shake the idea from her mind— it was too much, too mad, there was no way it would work, no way the omega would agree to it. But then again, if Lena was as desperate to keep her work alive as Kara was to keep her company, she might actually consider it.

Kara called Nia over quickly and pulled out her business card and a pen.

They might be able to help each other.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A proposal of sorts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn’t planning on updating this soon, but something about the last chapter and the flow was bugging me. So I ended up going back and adding Kara’s POV to the end of the last chapter. So go read that before you read this.
> 
> I’m sorry I’m like this. But I hope giving you more to read will make up for it.

Lena smoothed down the front of her dress for the tenth time in as many minutes. The dress was new, and probably the most expensive thing she had worn in at least six years. She hadn’t planned on buying it, hadn’t planned on dressing up for this date at all— she had only packed comfy clothes for the flight and a business-appropriate outfit for the presentation, after all— but when she had returned to the hotel room and told Jack about the dinner invitation, the man had whipped out his latest credit card— that Lena had no idea how he got with his credit score and he claimed was for emergencies only— and insisted that this counted as an emergency.

“Don’t you see?” Jack had asked as he closed the tiny bottle from the hotel’s mini-fridge— his third, by the looks of it. “If this date goes well, she could change her mind about backing our project. And she’s the majority shareholder, so if we win her over, we’re golden.”

With that in mind, Jack had pulled her into a taxi and headed toward the upper end of town, then pulled her into a high-end clothing boutique that Lena knew she couldn’t afford on her own. Jack had begun picking dresses and outfits off the racks immediately, each one with a higher hemline and lower neckline than the one before it.

As soon as Lena was in his first pick— a bright red slinky number with a relatively modest hem but a neckline that plunged almost to her navel.

“Jack, I can’t wear this!” she had hissed, covering her chest even as she stepped out of the dressing room to show him.

“Why not? You look spectacular,” he said, popping what looked like a gummy bear into his mouth.

“This dress makes it look like I’m trying to seduce her!”

Jack had merely raised a brow at that. “And?”

That was when Lena threw a shoe at him.

“I’m not saying you _have_ to sleep with her,” Jack had claimed as he paid for her dress— the red one, as it was actually the most modest of Jack’s picks. “I’m just saying that it might help in the process of convincing her to back our research, that’s all.”

Jack’s words played on repeat in her mind as she made her way into the restaurant, knuckles white where they held her small clutch. Was she really so desperate that she would sleep with this alpha just to get money for their project? The thought alone made her feel dirty, and yet when she thought about the past two years spent holed up with Jack working on this revolutionary project, and the years before that in college planning out the foundation of it, and all the people they could help if they succeeded, and Jack’s pitifully hopeful face as she left for this date…

Not to mention, if this project failed, she would have nothing left. It would leave her completely penniless, unemployed, homeless. Her only option would be to go back home, to go back to the Luthors, back under Lillian’s thumb. And that, to Lena, was _not_ an option.

So, yeah, she was pretty damn desperate.

“Can I help you, Miss?” the maitre d’ asked as she entered.

“I’m meeting someone,” Lena replied. “The reservation should be under Danvers? Or perhaps—“

“Zorel,” the man said, making a mark in his book. “So you are Miss Kara’s lovely date this evening. She’s waiting at the table. If you would follow me?”

He led Lena through the crowded dining room, to the back of the restaurant, and up a set of stairs. Her brows dipped in confusion as she followed him, only to arch in surprise when they emerged on a small rooftop patio. Three smaller tables were positioned up here, among the twinkling string lights and overflowing pots of greenery, but only one of them was occupied.

Kara stood and Lena’s eyes widened at the sight of her. The alpha was good looking, Lena had known that from their brief interaction in the boardroom earlier in the day, but tonight she was just… dashing. Her blonde hair was down around her shoulders but pulled back neatly from her face, and her bright blue eyes were no longer hidden behind dark-rimmed glasses. She wore an impeccably-tailored navy suit that perfectly hugged her strong figure.

Suddenly Lena wasn’t so sure she needed a reason to sleep with the alpha beyond sheer attraction. Her eyes traced up the red tie Kara wore, serendipitously almost the same color as Lena’s dress, and saw the muscles in her neck strain as she swallowed hard. Apparently Lena wasn’t the only one affected by the other’s appearance, and she made a mental note to thank Jack for the dress later.

“Miss Kieran, you look… Wow,” Kara said, circling the table and pulling out a chair for her.

“Thank you,” Lena replied with a wide smile. “You look quite handsome yourself, Miss Zorel. Or is it Miss Danvers?”

Kara’s cheeks blushed a pale shade of pink as she took her seat opposite Lena. “Well, for you, it’s Kara.”

“Well, if I’m calling you Kara…” Lena said with a smile, and the blonde gave her a dazzling smile in reply.

“Lena, then,” she said, her lips curving around the name like it was something to be savored.

A waiter appeared from nowhere and offered Lena a menu.

“Order whatever you like,” Kara told her. “And once you decide, I’ll order wine, if that’s alright with you?”

“That’s fine,” Lena replied. “Do you have any recommendations?”

“Well, I almost always order the _bistecchina di maiale_ or the _tagliata di manzo_ ,” Kara replied, pointing to the pork and steak options on the menu. “But their pasta dishes are also to die for, and my sister always recommends the _coniglio in porchetta_.”

“Hmm, I haven’t had rabbit in a very long time,” Lena said pensively. “I believe I’ll try that.”

“You’ll love it,” Kara told her, beckoning for the waiter. “All of their meat is ethically sourced, and the produce all comes from local farms just outside of National City.”

“You must come here often,” Lena said. Their conversation was cut off by the waiter’s approach, but after they placed their orders and Kara requested a bottle of wine Kara replied.

“I like to bring clients here to finalize deals,” she said. “It’s private enough for my needs, though I’ve never brought any of them to the rooftop.”

“Well, it’s lovely,” Lena commented.

The waiter reappeared with the wine and Kara sampled it before giving the go ahead. Lena sipped at her glass of Pinot noir and let out a pleased hum.

“Oh, that’s wonderful,” she said. “I’ll have to be careful, it’s been quite a long time since I’ve had wine this good. It might go to my head.”

“One can only hope,” Kara said with a wink and a laugh. “But don’t worry, I promise to be a complete gentlewoman.”

Lena almost wished the alpha wouldn’t, but she quickly pushed that hormone-driven thought aside.

Their conversation continued over dinner, chatting about light subjects. Kara regaled Lena with a hilarious tale about her adoptive sister Alex and her assistant Nia accidentally breaking a coffee maker that morning before their scheduled meetings, and about the flood of scalding hot coffee that stained the tile of the break room and left the entire floor and all its employees smelling like coffee and hazelnut for the rest of the day. Lena countered with a story of how Jack set off all the alarms in their building when he forgot to put water in his microwaveable noodles— an incident that had happened far more times than Lena cared to admit before she wrote a note in permanent marker directly on the front of the microwave reminding him of the necessary ingredient.

“You two seem close,” Kara said finally, and Lena recognized the statement for what it was— a subtle inquiry as to the nature of her relationship with Jack.

“I suppose that’s what happens when you live with someone for two years, and practically lived in a lab with them for four years before that,” Lena shrugged.

“So you two are roommates?” Kara asked.

“Roommates, business partners, old school friends, all of the above,” Lena said, taking another sip of her wine.

“So you’re not involved… romantically?” Kara asked.

Lena smiled slightly. “Kara, if I were already in a relationship, I wouldn’t be here with you.”

“Oh, no, I didn’t mean to imply!” Kara exclaimed. “I just… Two people whose lives are entwined that closely, I thought perhaps…”

“Well, we met on a blind date in college,” Lena said with a shrug. “But we spent more time talking about bioengineering than anything else. We decided to work together rather than date. And he did help me through one horrible heat after I tried some cheap suppressants, but it was horribly awkward afterward. We both decided we’d rather just forget it and never mention it again. Overall he’s just a really good friend who drives me absolutely crazy on a regular basis.”

“Sounds a lot like me and my sister— other than the sleeping together part,” Kara said with a grin.

“You two are close?” Lena asked.

They spent the rest of dinner talking about their families— or, rather, Kara talking about her family and Lena redirecting questions to avoid talking about her own. It was remarkably easy because Kara seemed to love talking about her family, in spite of the tragedy surrounding them. Lena could tell she loved her adoptive mother and sister, and still missed her adoptive father. When she talked about her biological parents, who had died when she was just seven years old, Lena could see a twinge of sadness in her eyes, but also a blaring pride.

Lena wondered, bitterly, silently, what that must be like.

“You talk about your family so fondly,” Lena commented instead. “Is that something you want someday? A family of your own?”

Kara’s eyes widened and she fidgeted uncomfortably for a moment. “Funny you should say that…”

Before she could continue, their waiter approached the table. “Would you care for a dessert, ladies?”

Kara cast Lena a sideways glance and she shook her head slightly. Kara looked up at the man.

“No, thank you. If you could just take our plates and give us a few minutes of privacy, please.”

“Of course, Miss Zorel,” he replied, and did as he was asked, picking up their empty plates neatly and disappearing down the stairs.

“Now, where were we?” Kara asked with wide blue eyes.

“You were telling me whether or not you want a family of your own,” Lena said with a soft smile. “I would guess that the answer is yes, judging by how fondly you speak of your childhood.”

“Yes, well,” Kara replied, stretching an arm around to scratch at the back of her neck nervously. “It’s actually kind of a complicated subject. I was hoping, perhaps, that we might help each other?”

Lena’s brows furrowed in confusion as she stared at the blonde alpha. “I’m sorry, I just don’t understand.”

Kara sighed and clenched her hands together on the table in front of her, looking far more like the businesswoman Lena had met in the boardroom earlier in the day.

“I have a proposition for you,” Kara said, her voice even. “If you’ll just hear me out, I think we can both come to an agreement that is mutually beneficial to the both of us.”

——

 _Don’t fidget,_ Kara told herself as she reached for her wine and took a sip to steady her nerves. The voice in her head sounded strongly like her aunt, and she suddenly wished she had something stronger to drink, and she wasn’t even a fan of alcohol.

The thing is, she found herself actually _liking_ the omega who sat across from her. Lena Kieran was witty and very easy to talk to. Whenever she spoke, it was obvious that she was intelligent and funny, and when she listened Kara could tell it was with genuine interest. Add that to what Kara already knew about her and her obvious physical beauty, and the woman was the whole package. If the situation had been different, if Kara wasn’t under a time constraint, if she wasn’t already broken…

Kara steeled herself. It was good that she liked the woman, she reasoned. That would make this entire thing easier, if she agreed.

 _If_ she agreed.

“I have a proposition for you,” Kara said, her voice even. “If you’ll just hear me out, I think we can both come to an agreement that is mutually beneficial to the both of us.”

Lena sat back in her chair and crossed her legs, drawing Kara’s attention to the bare skin exposed when the skirt’s hemline rose. When Kara’s eyes flickered back up, the coy smile on the omega’s face showed that she knew exactly where Kara had been looking.

“I’m listening,” Lena replied, sipping her own wine.

“I’m interested in investing in your work,” Kara told her.

Lena’s brows furrowed. “But I thought El-Corp…”

“Not El-Corp,” Kara corrected. “ _Me_. I would use my personal savings to invest in your work. I would pay for you and Mr. Spheer to relocate to National City, along with all of your equipment and things. I would provide a work space and housing for the two of you, all rent and utilities paid, for the next year. Any resources you need up to five million dollars would be covered, no questions asked, but anything above that price would have to be approved by me before purchase. I would also pay a personal salary to you and Mr. Spheer, which we can negotiate depending on terms.”

The brunette’s perfect brows had risen with each card Kara laid on the table, though beyond that she maintained the perfect calm facade. It was a good offer, Kara knew that. Not as good as an entire company would be able to offer, but it would likely be enough to get them over the threshold with their project. And it was definitely better than the nothing they currently had in their pockets.

“And what are your terms, Miss Zorel?” Lena asked.

“Please, I’m still Kara,” she said, taking another sip of her wine.

“Well then, Kara, are you proposing all this as a loan?” Lena asked. “Or are you asking for a portion of the profits once we make a deal with a larger corporation?”

“Neither,” Kara replied, putting down her wine glass. “My terms are a bit more… personal.”

Lena tensed as Kara’s words processed in her mind. Kara watched the play of emotions cross her face, from offense to curiosity. She tried to ignore the way the omega’s eyes looked her over, as if appraising her, and the way the muscles in her throat strained as she swallowed hard.

“Go on,” she said, putting down her own glass.

“I’m in a bit of a predicament, Lena,” Kara said brusquely. “I’ve devoted my life to my family’s company with the goal of one day taking my place as CEO. When my cousin Clark refused to take his place as CEO, it fell to me. I was eighteen, a freshman in college pursuing a degree in astrophysics at the time. When my aunt came to me, I immediately changed my major to business. When I graduated, I started working in the mailroom of El-Corp, and I’ve worked in every department of the company for at least a few months ever since. You see, my father and uncle put certain stipulations in their wills for whoever took over the company, me or my cousin, and that was one of them. They wanted us to know the company’s inner workings and, more importantly to them, they wanted us to know our employees at every level.”

“Sounds wise,” Lena replied. “But what does that have to do with me?”

“My father included one other clause in his will,” Kara replied. “In order to take over the company, I must be mated and have a pup by the time I turn thirty.”

Lena’s beautifully expressive face once more betrayed her thoughts— the woman would never win at cards or be good with business, Kara thought. Kara could clearly see when the woman put two and two together before she schooled her features into something more neutral.

“I still don’t see—“ Lena began.

“Oh, I think you do,” Kara said. “You’re a smart woman, Lena, I think you know what I’m asking, but to be clear, I’ll lay it out for you. I will fund your research, provide you with everything you need, pay you and Mr. Spheer a generous salary, and on top of that I will even pay you one million dollars. In return, you will become my mate and have my pup.”

If looks could kill, Kara knew her heart would stop beating in that moment. Lena’s green eyes filled with venom like Kara had never seen. She braced for the verbal onslaught that she was certain was coming, but it never came.

Lena moved so quickly that Kara almost blinked and missed it. She stood and walked out, her heels click-clacking angrily against the rooftop patio beneath them. For a moment, Kara sat frozen, blinking at the empty seat where the omega had been sitting, as her mind caught up with the situation. Then she realized that she was letting her opportunity slip between her fingertips.

She bolted from the chair and quickly made her way to the stairwell of the building. A waiter was heading up, and Kara turned sideways to squeeze past the man who called after her as she ran. She ignored him, hurrying down and into the full dining room below. She saw a flash of red and dark hair in the center of the room.

“Lena, wait!”

The woman didn’t stop, instead quickening her pace toward the door. Kara hurried across the dining room, almost knocking a waitress off her feet as she ran past. She caught up with the omega and reached for her stiff shoulder to stop her.

“Lena, please, just wait.”

Lena turned around with a snarl and hands balled into fists.

“Get your hands off me!” she shouted, drawing the attention of everyone in the restaurant. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

Kara sighed. “If you’ll just let me explain…”

“What’s there to explain?” Lena demanded. “I don’t sleep with people for money!”

She pulled back her arm and swung wildly, almost slapping Kara in the face, but thankfully the alpha’s reflexes were much quicker and she managed to grab Lena’s wrist just before her hand made contact. The diners around them gasped and whispered under her breath. Kara bristled at the looks they were giving her and looked around.

“Come with me,” she ordered, pulling Lena from the dining room by the wrist. She found a small coat closet behind the maitre d’s stand and slipped inside, dragging Lena along with her.

She didn’t realize that it was, in fact, a _very small_ closet, and full of coats from the various diners in the restaurant. The limited space meant she and Lena were pressed tight against each other and the air quickly filled with the scent of their pheromones. Lena’s scent was bitter with anger but beneath that was something sweet and spicy, absolutely intoxicating...

“Are you insane?” Lena asked, her voice a sharp hiss in the space between them. It pulled Kara’s attention back to the issue at hand.

“Lena, just hear me out, please.”

The omega huffed. “I think I’ve already heard enough. What kind of omega do you think I am?”

“I think you’re smart,” Kara replied quickly and honestly. Lena’s eyes widened in surprise but then narrowed in suspicion. Kara continued, “I think you’re incredibly smart, and witty, and kind, and I think you’re like me in that you’ve worked your ass off for something you believe in only for something to get in your way. That’s why I’m asking you. We each have resources that the other needs—“

“Yes, but my resource is my uterus,” Lena muttered angrily. “And what happens in a year when you have your company? What happens to your pup? What happens to _me_?”

“Well, um…”

“See, I knew it,” Lena huffed. “Typical alpha, only thinking of what you want and without giving a fuck for the people you break along the way.”

“I’m sorry,” Kara said quickly. “I… Sometimes I just get focused on one thing and I forget…” Lena raised a brow at her and Kara sighed. “I would still take care of you, alright? And any child we had, I would love them with all my heart. You were right, upstairs. I do want a family of my own, I always have, I just… I didn’t want it like this.”

Lena frowned up at her. “This whole thing seems awfully unfair to you, you know.”

Kara shrugged. “Admittedly I have known about this clause since I was eighteen, but it never felt real until now. I could challenge it, but it would mean releasing my control of El-Corp until the litigation was over, and that could take years. Not to mention what the bad press could mean for the company as a whole and my employees. I have to take care of them, above all.”

“You care about them,” Lena said. She bit her lip thoughtfully. “You’re a paradox, Kara. One minute I think you’re self-centered, the next you seem selfless. Which one is it?”

“Both, I guess,” Kara told her. “I’m not going to lie— I’m accustomed to a certain standard of living. But even if I gave up my company now, I could live comfortably for the rest of my life with the inheritance I already have. I want to run El-Corp because it’s a piece of my family, a piece of my blood. And with all the work I’ve put into it, I know I can be a good leader for the company and take care of my employees. I’m just a woman trying to do something good in the world… Surely you can understand that?”

Lena stared at her for a moment before nodding. “Yes, that I can understand.”

“Listen, I— I know it’s crazy,” Kara said. “And I know it’s asking a lot, more than a lot, I really do. But you and I… I think we both want the same things, deep down. Maybe we can make this work.”

For a moment, Kara thought Lena might actually be considering it. Then the omega’s face morphed into a glare and she pushed away from her, knocking a coat to the floor as she did so.

“This is ridiculous,” she said, reaching for the doorknob. “I have to go.”

“Lena, wait,” Kara exclaimed, putting her hand on Lena’s slim wrist.

Lena leveled her with that venomous glare once again. “Let go of me, Kara.”

“Okay,” Kara said, but her hand didn’t move. Lena looked pointedly at the offending member and then back at Kara’s face. Kara sighed and released her. “Okay, just… You have my card?”

“I have every intention of shredding it when I return to my hotel,” Lena told her.

Kara sighed. “Well, if you change your mind—“

“Not going to happen.”

“But if you _do_ ,” Kara replied. “You know how to contact me.”

Lena looked up at her with angry but studious eyes for another long moment before opening the door and dashing from the closet. Kara sighed again, leaning back into the coats.

“Miss Kara?”

Her head whipped around at the sound of her name, only to see Lorenzo, the maitre d’, looking at her anxiously from the door.

“Sorry about that,” she said sheepishly as she stepped out of the coat closet.

“Not a problem, Miss Kara,” the man said with a soft smile. “I take it your business went well.”

Kara held back the laugh that almost bubbled out at the man’s words. “About as well as could be expected, Lorenzo. Perhaps better.”

“And your date?”

Kara sighed, thinking back to piercing green eyes and ruby red lips.

“I’m not sure if I’ll see her again. But I hope that I do. I really hope that I do.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bargain is struck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my lovelies!  
> I don’t know where this week has gone. Time is meaningless at this point.  
> But anywho, I hope 5000+ more words of this will make up for it.

Lena made her way back to the hotel in a simmering fury. She couldn’t say she hadn’t expected the alpha to want to sleep with her before agreeing to back their project. She wasn’t a naive little omega with no worldly experience, she knew enough about business to know that many used their bodies to their advantage, especially omegas, no matter how unethical it might seem. But this, _this_ was something else entirely.

“The audacity, the absolute _nerve_ ,” she sputtered under her breath as she exited the hotel elevator, ignoring the looks she got from the couple still inside the elevator.

She could smell her own fury, an acrid scent that burned at the back of her throat with every breath. But she could also smell Kara’s sweet and spicy scent, still heavy in the fabric of her dress from where they had been pressed together in that closet, so close that Lena could feel every inch of her frame beneath that damn suit, from the soft swell of her breasts against Lena’s to the defined ridges of her abdominal muscles, and further down to the bulge in her trousers that made Lena’s imagination and hormones run wild.

Her trembling hands struggled with the card key for a moment and she muttered a few more choice curse words before it finally slipped into the lock. The lights flashed green and Lena opened the door with a huff.

“J—“ she didn’t even get his name out before she realized that Jack hadn’t even noticed her come in. The room was dimly lit by one of the bedside lamps, and Jack was sitting on the double bed farthest from the door, facing the window, a phone pressed to his ear.

“Yeah, Mum, I know,” Jack said into the phone, his voice low. “What about the chemo he had last time?” The phone buzzed with a quiet voice and Jack’s shoulders tensed. “What do you mean insurance won’t pay for that? If it’s what he needs then—“ His voice trailed off as the person on the other end of the line spoke again. “Okay, but you could take out a loan or something… Yeah, I know you guys gave me that last year but… Oh… Oh, you mortgaged the house for that? No, Dad didn’t tell me. What about your retirement? Could you… Oh, right.” Jack’s voice fell lower as his mother spoke on the phone again. “So… So how long does he have?”

Lena backed out of the room slowly and shut the door softly behind her. She was fairly certain Jack hadn’t even noticed her come in, he had been so focused on the phone call to his mother. Now was definitely not the time to tell him about Kara’s offer.

 _Kara’s offer_.

Lena rode the elevator back down to the lobby in silence. She wasn’t sure where she should go, so she toed off her heels and started walking barefoot down the sidewalk. National City was a big place, almost as big as Metropolis. It would be easy to get lost, either accidentally or on purpose. Lena wandered aimlessly for almost half an hour before finding herself by the waterfront. She found a wooden bench and sat, staring out over the water as boats with glittering lights sailed in and out of the harbor even at this late hour.

It reminded her of Lex. They had never watched boats, but they had watched airplanes. Right after Lionel died, when she was in high school, and he was trying so hard to fill their father’s shoes at LuthorCorp and Lillian was being all-around unbearable, they would drive to the outskirts of Metropolis and sip expensive alcohol that Lena wasn’t even old enough to drink legally and watch the planes take off and land. They would spend hours imagining where the planes were coming from or heading to, places they had visited or wanted to visit. It was strange, with all the money their family had, that they both felt tied down by it, unable to see the world the way they truly wanted.

It had been a simpler time. Before Lex became so focused on money and power that it consumed him. He had made sure Lena had the best education, even though Lillian argued that educating an omega was like educating a broodmare. He told her that once she graduated from MIT, she could work alongside him at LuthorCorp, and for a while she had shared that vision.

She met Jack at MIT, and while she didn’t fall in love with the slightly older beta, she did fall in love with his goals. Jack’s father had survived a very chemo-resistant form of lung cancer, so Jack wanted to develop something other than chemo that could attack cancer cells. They had developed the prototype for their nanobots while Lena was working on her Masters degree in bioengineering.

She had every intention of finishing the project at LuthorCorp, once she took her place there. But Lex had been quick to shoot that idea down. He had cut the entire medical technology division of LuthorCorp’s research and development department, instead turning the company’s focus to weapons development. When Lena tried to sell him on the nanobot project, he had tried to convince her that the best use of the tech was to weaponize it, an idea that had appalled Lena.

That was when he gave her the ultimatum: work for LuthorCorp and allow them to weaponize the project, or continue to work independently and lose her inheritance.

She had chosen the latter.

That was when Lillian had stepped in. Her beta mother had been all too helpful, promising that she would convince Lex to change his mind, giving Lena an allowance to live on. Lillian’s only requirement was that Lena dress up and attend formal events as the face of LuthorCorp, parading around like a prize thoroughbred. It was a strange contrast to how her adoptive mother had ignored her for the first eighteen years of her life with the Luthors, and at first Lena had enjoyed the newfound attention. Until she realized exactly what Lillian was doing.

Forced matings were illegal, of course, but coerced matings were another story entirely, especially among the rich and powerful where money was involved. After LuthorCorp’s annual charity fundraising gala, Lena had walked in on Lillian discussing a mating contract with Veronica Sinclair, a rich alpha with a reputation for beating her omega bedmates into submission, Lena had refused on principle. Her refusal, however, was met with a bruising slap in the face and cold laughter.

She had gone to Lex because he might’ve cut her out of the company but surely, _surely_ her brother wouldn’t stand for her to be mated to someone for money. She had barged into his office irate, and he had listened to her rant until she was breathless, not speaking until she demanded he tell her what he was going to do to stop Lillian.

Nothing. The answer was more painful than a slap in the face. Her mind was valuable, he had said, but her uterus was even more so. And if her mate would allow it, she could still work at LuthorCorp— developing weapons, not medicine.

That was the last she saw of the Luthors. She called Jack and packed her bags and withdrew what she could of her savings before Lex and Lillian shut down her accounts. She began going by Lena Kieran, her biological mother’s name, and kept her head down. She was convinced that if she and Jack could just figure out the nanobot project, she could finally win her freedom from her terrible family.

And yet here she was, two years later, with nothing to show of her act of rebellion but an offer that was bitterly similar to the ones Lillian had been arranging for her.

Lena yanked the band from her hair, releasing her ponytail, and ran her fingers through her hair in an attempt to calm herself. It all felt like a giant game of chess, and she was losing. She could already imagine Lex and Lillian’s gloating smiles when she returned to the Luthor mansion penniless and empty handed. They would probably find an Alpha even worse than Veronica Sinclair to mate her off to. No, she couldn’t go back. She would find something, a lab job in one of the rival tech firms, hell she would work as a barista in a coffee shop to stay afloat before she went back to the Luthors.

And then there was Jack…

Lena dug her short nails into her scalp so hard she almost drew blood as she thought back to the phone call she had overheard. Jack’s father’s cancer had returned. If their nanobots worked the way they were supposed to then they would have a treatment, but as they were now, they couldn’t keep up with the rapidly-spreading tumors that Jack had told her were typical of this particular form of cancer. The cancer had proven chemo-resistant before, but Jack’s family had been able to afford a stronger, experimental form of treatment that had worked last time. But now…

Lena knew how much money they had poured into their project over the last two years. She had taken three million when she left the Luthors, and all of it was gone. Jack’s parents had given them money as well, from their retirement savings and, apparently, they had borrowed against their house. Jack had taken out loan after loan as well. Lena knew realistically that if they sold their equipment they might be able to pay off the loans, but they couldn’t pay back what Jack’s parents had given them, and they certainly couldn’t offer anything to help with his father’s cancer treatment.

But a million dollars would.

Lena shook her head. She shouldn’t even consider it. Kara’s offer was scandalous, preposterous, and totally insane. And yet… it would solve all their problems, hers and Jack’s and even Kara’s.

Lena huffed at that. She shouldn’t even care about Kara’s problems, but for some reason she did. The Alpha didn’t seem like a horrible person by any stretch of the imagination, just obviously short-sighted. All in all, she had to be a better option for a mate than anyone Lillian would consider.

Oh, God, she was really considering this.

Her phone buzzed in her clutch and she unsnapped it, pulling it from the small space. A text from Jack popped up on the screen.

**JS: Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. And use protection!**

_Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do._ Lena couldn’t help but wonder if the roles were reversed if Jack would consider doing this. He was such an idiot sometimes, but he was certainly lovable, and loving. They had been through thick and thin together ever since they met six years prior. Lex might’ve been her blood, but Jack was more of a brother to her now. She couldn’t ask his opinion— he would tell her to refuse the offer on principle. For all his teasing about sleeping with Kara once, he knew Lena’s background and wouldn’t push her to accept this crazy offer. He would tell her to refuse, would tell her that it would be fine, that everything would be fine even as the world crashed all around them.

But if roles were reversed? Yes, Jack would do it. The answer was startlingly easy for Lena to discern. And it wouldn’t be a flippant decision on his part, either. Jack would simply do it because he always took care of things. He would do it for the project, for the difference they could make in the world, for the people they could help, _and_ he would do it for Lena, because he cared about her and wanted her success and happiness just as much as he wanted his own.

A small piece of card stock tumbled free from Lena’s clutch to the ground. She bent and picked it up, her fingers digging into the pulpy texture of the paper. The glossy embossed print glistened in the harbor lights, and the El-Corp logo shined golden instead of black.

She opened her text messages and took a deep breath before typing.

**LK: Are your terms up for negotiation?**

It was late. Two hours had passed since she stormed out of her date with Kara. The woman was probably asleep…

Her phone buzzed in reply and Lena looked down.

**KZD: I look forward to it. Tomorrow at 9am?**

A second text followed with the name and address of a coffee shop near El-Corp. Lena’s hand shook as she began typing again and hit the send button.

**LK: I’ll see you there.**

**KZD: You won’t regret it.**

Lena sighed into the night. “I already do.”

——

Kara sat near the door of Noonan’s Cafe, sipping at her coffee and picking at the sticky bun on her plate. The sheer amount of caffeine and sugar in the meal wasn’t helping her mood at all. Her leg bounced nervously beneath the table, foot tapping so loudly that it even annoyed her, she was so on edge.

_You’re really going through with this._

The voice in her head sounded suspiciously like her sister. Alex, of course, knew nothing about any of this, and if she did she would definitely make her disapproval known, very vocally. Then Eliza would find out, and then J’onn, and then it would make its way back to Astra… Inevitably it was a train wreck and Kara knew it but she couldn’t stop now.

The bell above the door tinkled with sound, drawing Kara’s attention, and her breath caught in her throat. Lena Kieran swept into the coffee shop with the cool January air, a gray peacoat over a purple sweater and jeans that hugged her perfect curves. Her hair was down and in loose curls, her makeup natural. Kara had seen sharp-businesswoman-Lena the day prior and sultry-seductress-Lena the night before but this Lena… This Lena just looked so _soft_ that it pulled at all of her alpha instincts to get close to her and snuggle into her warmth. She hadn’t reacted to an omega in such a way since… Well, in a very long time.

Lena’s eyes scanned the room, finally landing on Kara. Her lips turned up in a slight, involuntary smile before she seemed to catch herself and remember why she was there. Her face transformed into a scowl before she schooled her features, putting on the blank face of the businesswoman she had been the day before. She made her way toward the table, and Kara moved to stand.

“Good morning,” Kara greeted, trying to keep her voice cheerful as she circled the table to pull Lena’s chair out for her. Lena frowned, but took the proffered seat, dropping her purse to the floor and removing her coat. She looked around for a moment as Kara moved again. “What would you like? Anything you like, they have coffee and tea and juices, if you’d rather, and they have all kinds of pastries and bagels…”

“A breakfast tea if they have it, with cream, but if not black coffee is fine,” Lena replied.

“Anything to eat?” Kara asked, but Lena just shook her head.

Kara hurried to the counter, trying not to fidget. She glanced back toward the table and saw Lena reaching across, picking at a small piece of her sticky bun and putting it in her mouth. The omega closed her eyes in blatant enjoyment, before looking around surreptitiously. It was… strange, but cute, Kara decided. She placed her order, then returned to the table with her spoils.

“I know you said you didn’t want anything, but I got you a sticky bun,” Kara said, placing the table and cup in front of the omega with a smile. Her inner alpha preened. _See, I pay attention, I can take care of you_.

Lena just scowled. “I told you I didn’t want anything.”

Kara deflated slightly. “Yes, but, I thought…”

“If you’re going to be one of those alphas who does what they please and disregards what I say just because I’m an omega, then this definitely won’t work, no matter how much money you throw at me,” Lena huffed, taking a sip of her tea.

Kara stared, slightly dumbfounded, across the table. After a moment she just shook her head in frustration and confusion. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Lena just snorted, sipping her tea. Kara pushed the plates to the side— hers half-eaten, Lena’s still full— and opened her own satchel.

“I’ve drawn up a contract, of sorts,” she said, pulling out a folder and sliding it across the table to Lena. “It’s not legally binding, obviously, but I thought it would be wise to have everything we agree upon in writing.”

Lena glanced around the crowded shop again. “Should we really do this here?”

Kara shrugged. “Noonan’s is another place where I do business frequently. Unless someone comes and reads over your shoulder, it just looks like two business associates going over a contract.”

Lena shifted uncomfortably in her seat, then opened the folder and began to read. Kara tried to sneakily watch the changes in the woman’s face— she really was fascinatingly expressive.

“Cohabitation?” Lena asked, looking up sharply.

Kara nodded. “Non-negotiable. As is sharing a bed. There are plenty of people who want me to end up forfeiting my shares of El-Corp, and I wouldn’t put it past them to question our new relationship and send private investigators to spy on our personal lives.”

“I wouldn’t blame them,” Lena told her. “How do you plan on explaining this whole thing with me and you?”

Kara shrugged. “It’s simple, honestly. After your presentation I asked you for a date to Mazzini’s and you accepted. We hit it off. You and Mr. Spheer decided to move your research to National City. We began dating and decided to partner during your next heat and my next rut. Imagine our surprise when you accidentally ended up pregnant afterwards.”

“Hmm, surprise indeed,” Lena said, rolling her eyes.

“Yes, well, that’s our story and we’re sticking to it,” Kara huffed.

Lena tucked her chin and went back to reading. Suddenly she frowned and reached for her bag, pulling out, of all things, a bright red ink pen. She circled something on the paper and began writing in the margins. Kara squinted across the table, trying to read her writing upside down.

“No mating bites until after conception,” Lena said, popping the cap back onto her pen.

“What?” Kara asked.

Lena sighed. “It’s for your protection as well as mine, honestly. In case I don’t conceive, you have the option to go try this foolhardy plan with some other omega, if you can find one crazy enough to accept.”

Kara frowned. She didn’t like the idea of trying this with another omega. But Lena did have a valid point, so she shook the thought from her mind.

“Fine, I’ll edit that part,” Kara replied.

“I’m not sure why we couldn’t just do IVF,” Lena huffed as she continued reading.

“I did inquire about that, honestly,” Kara replied. “Apparently they will only do IVF for couples with medically documented trouble conceiving for at least six mating cycles, and only if there is a diagnosed reason for their infertility.” Kara shrugged. “So we’re stuck doing it the old fashioned way.”

Lena scowled at her wording, but didn’t argue the point any further. She went back to reading.

“As far as testing, it’s been a while since I’ve had a partner, and I tested clean afterward, but I’ll go for updated work ups if you like,” Lena told her, then peered at her from beneath her lashes. “I expect the same from you, of course.”

“Of course,” Kara nodded. “We can even make it a couple’s appointment, if you’d like.”

Lena’s scowl deepened. “I’ll pass.”

Lena continued reading, clearly taking in every word. “No other sexual partners, no tobacco use, no alcohol, no marijuana or recreational drugs, all prescriptions and over the counter medications must be cleared by the obstetrician, yes to all of the above. No caffeine…” She looked pointedly to her tea and back to Kara. “Rephrase. Limit daily caffeine intake to whatever amount is recommended by the obstetrician.”

Kara’s brow crinkled. “Are you sure…”

“Kara, if you don’t want me to murder you, then I suggest you allow me to have at least _some_ caffeine every day,” Lena said drolly.

“Noted,” Kara nodded.

“Consent to medical procedures necessary for obstetric care, consent for sire to be present at all prenatal appointments, consent for sire to be present during birth, yes to all of the above,” Lena murmured. “Oh, no, no, can’t do that.”

“What?” Kara asked, trying to read upside down.

“Provide family medical history,” Lena said, shaking her head. “I can’t do that.”

“Why not?” Kara asked.

“I’m… I’m adopted,” Lena told her, muscles tense like she was ready to run out the door.

Kara’s jaw dropped slightly. “Oh. Oh, well… I totally understand that, yeah, obviously. We can just scratch that out, no problem.”

Lena visibly relaxed. “Thank you.”

“Lena…” Kara began, reaching across the table for the woman’s hand. Lena’s eyes immediately flew to where they were touching, then looked up at Kara. “I just want to say… Thank you for doing this. I know it’s asking a lot, but I just…”

The brunette’s cheeks flushed a pretty pale pink, and she looked back down at the contract. She frowned again, muttering as she read part of the agreement.

“Omega is released from all obligations of mating and parental custody after… You really think I would leave my child?”

Kara’s eyes widened. “I wasn’t sure… I mean, I know you’re just doing this because you need the money so I wasn’t sure if you would want anything to do with me or the pup…”

“Of course I want something to do with them,” Lena huffed. “I’m not… I wouldn’t just leave them.”

Kara could tell this was a testy subject for the omega, and she had a feeling she knew why now that she knew the woman was adopted. She lightly squeezed the hand she was still holding, pulling Lena’s attention back to her.

“You don’t have to, and I wouldn’t make you,” Kara replied. “I can have that added to the contract. Even if you don’t want anything to do with me, we can come to some kind of custodial arrangement for the pup. They will be taken care of and you will be taken care of, even if we don’t stay together. I promise.”

Lena swallowed hard, looking into her eyes as if she could see into Kara’s soul and, for a moment, Kara wondered if she could do just that. Finally she nodded, satisfied with whatever she had found.

“Alright,” she said, tapping her pen against the papers. “Now the financial compensation.”

Kara tensed. She had suspected this was the part Lena would want to negotiate. She reached across the table and closed the folder, pulling it back and placing it into her bag. Lena’s wide eyes darted up to her as she stood.

“Come with me,” Kara instructed, holding out her hand. Lena looked at her warily for a long moment before taking her hand, allowing the alpha to steady her as she stood. Kara helped her into her coat before offering her hand again. Lena took it, her face still unsure, and followed her from the cafe.

The walk through the winter air was brisk, even in the California sunlight. Thankfully, their destination was nearby— a small, nondescript office building. Kara pulled a key from her pocket and opened the door, holding it open so Lena could go inside.

“What is this?” Lena asked, looking around the empty room.

“It’s your new workspace, if you agree,” Kara replied. “I’ve already leased the building. It used to be a private clinic, so there’s plenty of room for your equipment as well as office space for you to work out of. I’ve even arranged for contractors to convert the upstairs into a studio apartment for Mr. Spheer.”

They walked through the building, and Lena took in the space with wide eyes. They even went upstairs, so she could see the new construction.

“It should be finished by the end of the week,” Kara told her. “Is there anything else you would like to add to the contract?”

Lena bit her lip. “The million dollars in direct compensation to me…”

Kara bit her tongue. Of course the omega wanted more.

“I want you to split it, and I want you to give half of it to Jack instead of me, and pay his half now,” Lena told her.

Kara blinked in surprise. “You want me to give Mr. Spheer five hundred thousand dollars up front? Five hundred thousand dollars that is meant to be compensation for you carrying my pup, not even part of your salary or compensation for your work on the nanobots?”

Lena nodded. “Yes, that’s exactly what I want.”

“That— Why?” Kara asked.

“It’s none of your business,” Lena said haughtily.

“Lena, I deserve to know if Mr. Spheer is associated with anything illegal,” Kara warned.

Lena scoffed. “Of course not.”

“Then why the hell does he need five hundred thousand dollars?” Kara demanded.

“It’s none—“

“Of my business, I know,” Kara growled. “But it’s my money, so I’m making it my business. If you want this deal to work then I need complete transparency, so…”

“Fine,” Lena huffed. “His father has cancer, alright?”

Kara’s eyes widened. “What?”

Lena flexed her hands anxiously. “You remember during our presentation yesterday, he told you that the inspiration behind the nanobot project was his father’s battle with cancer? Well when I got back to the hotel room last night, Jack was on the phone with his mother. Apparently the cancer is back. It’s a rare form of lung cancer, very resistant to chemo. Last time they had to pay for a very expensive experimental treatment to get his cancer into remission, but this time they can’t afford it, they’ve given us so much money to support our research that they can’t afford chemo. So Jack needs the money to pay back his parents so his father can afford his cancer treatment, okay?”

Kara was dumbfounded. That was the absolute last thing she expected.

“Lena, if Jack pressured you into doing this so he could get the money for that…”

“Jack doesn’t even know about this,” Lena told her, clearly affronted by the mere suggestion. “And you’re not going to tell him. I swear to God, Kara, if you breathe a word to him about this arrangement—“

“I won’t,” Kara replied, raising her hands placatingly. “I swear, I won’t tell him. It’s probably for the best, anyway.”

Lena glared at her for a moment longer before nodding. “Fine. So… Do you agree to my terms?”

“No mating bite until after conception, I also submit testing for any STDs, caffeine allowed in moderation as recommended by your obstetrician, no requirements for family medical history, shared custodial rights of any pups, and five hundred thousand dollars up front to be paid to Mr. Spheer for his father’s medical expenses,” Kara listed. “Anything else?”

Lena turned away from her, looking around the small space once again. She sighed and muttered something that sounded a lot like _I can’t believe I’m doing this_ before turning around again.

“I think that’s all,” Lena replied. She held out her hand. “Are we agreed?”

“Agreed,” Kara nodded, shaking the omega’s hand. Warmth radiated from her palm where they touched, and for a moment she didn’t want to pull away, but she quickly realized how awkward it was and released her grip, dropping her hand to her thigh and wiping as if she had sweaty palms.

“Right,” Lena said, looking around anxiously again. “Well, our flight leaves in six hours. That should be time for you to update your contract for me to sign, and to transfer those funds to Jack’s account. Then I suppose I’ll see you once we arrange for things to be moved here.”

Kara frowned. “Can’t Jack manage the move by himself?”

“Well, yes,” Lena replied, clearly flustered. “But I thought…”

“Your heat’s coming soon, isn’t it?” Kara asked, her voice low. “I can scent it on you already.”

Lena shifted uneasily. “Normally I take suppressants, but I used the money for this month’s prescription on our hotel room here. It shouldn’t hit for almost two weeks but apparently My hormones are wacky this time.”

“Happens sometimes when you come off suppressants,” Kara said with a shrug. “I think it’s in our best interest if you stay in National City. Let Jack take the lead on the move. You can get settled into my apartment and we can get to know each other.”

“Get to know each other?” Lena asked. “I got the impression that this was an emotionless endeavor for you, Kara.”

Kara shrugged again. “I have no intention of this becoming romantic, Lena, make no mistake. Feelings like that just complicate a bargain like the two of us have struck. But if I’m going to fake a relationship with you, if I’m going to share my living space with you and share custody of a pup with you for the rest of my life, I figure I might as well get to know you. And so far you do seem at least likable.”

“Ha!” Lena barked out a laugh. “Well, if that’s the only compliment I’m getting, I suppose I’ll take it.”

Kara grinned at her. “I have plenty more compliments for you, but I have a feeling they would only go to your head.”

This time Lena shrugged. “Maybe. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give them anyway.”

“I’ll make note of that,” Kara chuckled. “So, what do you say? Move in with me?”

Lena sighed. “Alright. I’ll move in with you. But I swear, if you’re an alpha who leaves their socks right outside the hamper or dirty dishes in the sink, I’m amending that contract again.”

Kara just chuckled. “Whatever you say, dear. Whatever you say.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of comments last chapter of people expecting Jack to pressure Lena into accepting and that was my initial thought but then I was like “wow that would be a complete dick move” and this Jack is more lovable pothead than dickhead.  
> I still don’t have this plot completely fleshed out, tbh, but I know there’s so many secrets that it’s going to be a LOT of drama. I’m excited.  
> Let me know what you guys think!  
> Also, did you guys know that if you Google things like “surrogate contracts” suddenly you’ll start getting ads for sperm banks and egg donation and IVF clinics in your social media apps? It’s annoying, but also funny to me. Writer problems.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saturday morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven’t forgotten this story, I swear!

Kara wasn’t used to sharing her bed, in fact she had avoided it for the past several years. But for whatever reason, as she woke up on Saturday morning, the tenth morning with Lena in her bed, she thought she might actually get used to this. They always started on opposite edges of the king-sized bed, with Kara in her typical position sprawled out like a starfish on her half and Lena clinging to her edge, back turned toward Kara. But every single morning, without fail, they awoke in the center of the bed, wrapped around each other like complementary puzzle pieces.

This morning Kara was tilted slightly, body curved around Lena’s, one arm around her shoulders, and the omega’s head was tucked beneath her chin, one leg thrown haphazardly over Kara’s thighs, one arm draped across her midriff. Warm puffs of air against Kara’s throat told her that Lena was still deeply asleep, undisturbed by the soft music and open windows Kara had timed to wake her up, but she knew that in a few minutes the smell of coffee from Kara’s automatic brewer would rouse the sleeping omega. Then Lena would blush pink as she unfolded herself from Kara’s embrace and retreat to the bathroom while Kara went to the kitchen and prepared some sort of breakfast.

It was all sorts of soft domesticity that Kara had avoided for most of her life, but now found herself enjoying immensely even after less than two weeks. The alpha inside her was practically purring with contentment at the omega’s closeness, and it did so every morning when she awoke and every evening when she came home to Lena and every night when they danced around each other in the bathroom as they prepared for bed.

Part of her thought she should be wary at how quickly she was becoming used to this, but another part told her that it was a good thing, considering the arrangement she and Lena had agreed upon. It was a good thing that they were getting along so far, that Lena seemed to fit so easily into her life.

The warm scent of coffee hit Kara’s nose and, just like clockwork, Lena stretched and stiffened beside her. The pillowy softness of her breasts pressed into Kara’s rib cage and she had to bite her lip to hold back the soft groan that rose in her throat.

Her blatant attraction to the omega didn’t hurt anything either.

Sleepy sea-green eyes opened slowly and a soft smile pulled at the corners of Lena’s lips before consciousness fully hit her. Kara could see the change as the smile melted into a frown and dark brows furrowed before Lena pulled away from her and cold air hit Kara’s side. She sighed as Lena drew the sheet up around her— a completely unnecessary move because she was fully-covered, wearing one of Kara’s plain white t-shirts and a pair of Kara’s plaid pajama bottoms. She ran her fingers through her sleep-messed hair and the brown locks glinted almost red in the sun.

“Good morning,” Kara greeted, tucking her arms behind her head to stop herself from reaching out and touching the omega. The Lena Kieran she had met in the El-Corp boardroom had been all severe lines and hard edges. The Lena in her bed now, though, was so soft that not touching her was almost painful.

“Hi.” There was that pretty pink blush again. Lena’s eyes darted around the room, looking anywhere but at Kara.

“So… pancakes for breakfast?” Kara asked.

Lena bit her lip. “You know, not everyone can eat massive amounts of carbs and still stay in shape.”

Kara shrugged. “If we weren’t supposed to eat carbs, then why do they taste so good?”

Lena chuckled. “Alright, fine. I can always eat a salad for lunch.”

“Bleh,” Kara commented. “So… I’ll get breakfast going while you get dressed?”

Lena nodded and looked down at herself before scrambling out of bed and disappearing down the hall and into the bathroom. Kara just shook her head. The omega was still skittish around her, but Kara was beginning to wonder if perhaps she was always on edge like this.

After a quick stop in the downstairs bathroom, Kara made her way to the kitchen and started breakfast. She gave the blueberries a quick rinse and mixed the batter, and found a small pack of bacon and scrambled some eggs for good measure. Throughout the week her breakfasts mainly consisted of a quick bowl of microwaveable oatmeal with some fruit mixed in, or a bagel she could eat on the go, but on the weekends she liked to take the time to go all out and make something herself.

This time she made enough for two people, and the act of making enough for Lena, of taking care of the omega, made her alpha instincts hum with pleasure.

When Lena came downstairs into the kitchen wearing her own leggings and a National City University sweatshirt that Kara had given her to wear the first night she had stayed in the apartment, Kara had to suppress an actual purr.

“Jack messaged me. Apparently the box of clothes he shipped last week got lost in transit,” Lena said as she sat at the bar, looking down at her phone. “I’m going to call the shipping company later but according to the tracking number, the box was last scanned somewhere in Phoenix on Tuesday. Thank goodness my laptop arrived intact, at least.”

“There is that. But that doesn’t sound very hopeful for your clothes,” Kara told her as she placed the first pancake onto a plate and poured another. “You know you can borrow my card if you need to pick up some things.”

Lena bit her lip. “I really shouldn’t… But I am getting tired of wearing the same clothes everyday.”

When some of those things included Kara’s own clothes, Kara wasn’t sure she would ever get tired of it, but she wanted Lena to be comfortable. She flipped the bacon and gave the eggs a quick stir before digging her wallet out of her coat pocket and pulling out a black credit card. She slid it across the countertop to Lena.

“Kara…” Lena began.

“Seriously, don’t worry about it,” she replied. “I know that if you had your way you would be taking care of yourself, and I truly admire that about you, Lena. But until then, humor me. Let me take care of you for a little while. Okay?”

Lena blinked quickly as she took the credit card and held it in her hands. She gripped it so hard that her knuckles turned white.

“I don’t like taking handouts,” she said finally. “Or depending on others. It doesn’t usually end well for me.”

Kara’s brows crinkled at her words, but she didn’t pry. “Well, then, don’t consider it a handout. Consider it… an advance on your pay for the nanobot project.”

It wasn’t that Kara needed or wanted the money back, she just wanted Lena to feel more comfortable with the arrangement. Across the island, Lena’s shoulders relaxed at the idea.

“But, Lena, if you do become my mate and the mother of my pup, you’ll have to get used to me taking care of you, even if you could take care of yourself,” Kara added. “It’s an instinctual thing, you know.”

“I know,” Lena sighed. “I’ll… I’ll get there, I suppose. But I’m not your mate yet.”

Kara shrugged, feigning nonchalance when in reality her alpha was growling at the idea. She shoved those primal instincts down as deeply as she could. She had known Lena for less than two weeks, she shouldn’t feel such an attachment to her already. She blamed her instincts, and the sweet pre-heat scent that Lena was emitting that just grew stronger each day.

Kara finished their food and divided it up onto two plates. She placed a heaping helping in front of Lena and placed her own in front of the seat beside the omega before pouring their coffee.

“Kara, there’s no way I can eat all this!” Lena exclaimed.

Kara just chuckled as she returned with their mugs. “Well, either I can eat your leftovers for you, or you can save them for later. I won’t be offended either way.”

Lena hummed happily as she chewed her first bite. “Well, it definitely beats the knock-off brand cereal I’ve been eating every morning for the past couple of years.”

“Okay, I might be offended just by that comparison,” Kara said with a scowl. “But speaking of food, if there’s anything specific that you like, just let me know and I’ll add it to the shopping list. I usually have a delivery service bring in groceries on Mondays. Or if you think of something between deliveries there’s a grocery store on the corner one block over.”

Lena nodded around her bite of eggs. “I’ll do that. So… any plans for today? Or are you working through the weekend again?”

Kara sighed. She had spent the last weekend working thirteen-hour days out of El-Corp solving a supply problem with an aeronautics manufacturer in Dubai. She wanted nothing more than to curl up on the sofa and binge-watch something on Netflix until her brain was numb, preferably with an attractive green-eyed omega curled up nearby, but sadly that wasn’t meant to be.

“My aunt has planned a luncheon with some business associates, and I’m expected to make an appearance,” she replied. “But I should be back this evening. And I’ll be free all day tomorrow.”

Kara was actually looking forward to a whole day with Lena. So far she had only had a handful of evenings with the omega, just enough conversations to learn a bare minimum about her likes and dislikes, her work with Jack, a tiny bit about her college years, just enough to make Kara want to know more. They weren’t dating— Kara had sworn off dating— but it was only prudent to get to know the woman she might end up mated to, the woman who might have her pup.

“What about you?” Kara asked as her phone buzzed on the counter.

“I’ll probably go out and pick up some clothes while you’re gone,” Lena replied, waving the credit card in the air. “Since you’re being generous.”

“Get whatever you want, seriously,” Kara told her, standing and stretching. “I’ll leave the number for the car service I use so you can call for a ride.”

She started to reach for the empty plates, but Lena’s soft hand on her wrist stopped her. Kara jolted at the contact, and the soft smell of soothing pheromones instantly filled her nose.

“You go ahead and start getting dressed, I’ll clean up,” Lena said with a soft smile.

“You sure?” Kara asked.

“Of course, you cooked so the least I can do is clean,” Lena said with a shrug. “And I do have a degree in engineering. I think I can figure out how to operate your dishwasher.”

“Okay, but just let me know if you need any help,” Kara replied, watching for a moment as Lena finished her last bite of pancake before heading to the bathroom, her alpha satisfied that the omega did in fact finish all the food Kara prepared for her.

——

Lena shook her head as the alpha disappeared up the stairs to the apartment’s second level. She had forgotten how silly alphas could be in their need to care for omegas, or perhaps she had never really known it before. All of the alphas she had met were more interested in controlling omegas than caring for them, and at first she had assumed that Kara would be the same. Thankfully, so far that had not been the case.

She finished her coffee and placed the dirty dishes and pans into the dishwasher before wiping down the marble countertop of the island and then the stainless steel stovetop. Kara’s kitchen was all marble countertops and white cabinets and stainless steel, clean and professional, but small touches made Lena smile: a mug caddy bearing touristy-mugs from various destinations that Kara had visited with her sister, a hedgehog-shaped succulent planter on the counter closest to the windows, a small stash of cookbooks from the Midvale School District PTO tucked beside the fridge.

The rest of the apartment was the same mix of modern luxury and personal charm. To one side of the kitchen was a large dining area with a long table that would seat a dozen people with room for more. The other side was a set of stairs that went upstairs to the master suite and two smaller bedrooms. The kitchen opened up to a large living area with a twenty-two foot ceiling and a wall of windows that overlooked the National City skyline. The walls were white but decorated in artful photos of Kara’s friends and family as well as paintings, some that Kara had painted herself, much to Lena’s surprise. The floor throughout the apartment was rich wood salvaged from older warehouses near the harbor. A massive gray sectional dominated most of the living room, but it was surprisingly plush and draped with fuzzy blankets and one that Dr. Eliza Danvers had knit herself. On the opposite side of the stairs was a space for a baby grand piano and Kara’s home office.

Lena made herself comfortable on one end of the sectional and pulled the knit blanket over her legs before dialing the shipping company Jack had used to ship their belongings. Not surprisingly, they were maddeningly unhelpful about her lost clothes, which for all Lena knew were now strewn along the side of a desert highway. Which meant that she would need to go shopping, a prospect that Lena definitely wasn’t looking forward to.

It wasn’t just that she hated shopping— years of Lillian Luthor dressing her in the scratchiest, pinkest outfits available would do that to a person— but she could feel the subtle nervous energy beneath her skin, the slight cramping in her lower abdomen that signaled that her heat would hit her soon. She hadn’t mentioned anything to Kara because she figured the alpha could smell it— Lena could smell it on herself, after all— which meant that every alpha she encountered today would be able to smell it. She probably had twenty-four hours, maybe less, before it became overwhelming, which was why she hadn’t asked Kara what her plans were for Sunday.

She already knew exactly what they would be doing.

Lena pushed that thought from her mind as she pulled up the number on her phone for the driver service Kara had given her and arranged for a car to pick her up in an hour. That would give her enough time to change into her one pair of jeans and put on some makeup, at least. She was about to head upstairs to see if Kara was finished in the bathroom when the alpha in question came down, and Lena forgot how to breathe.

Kara was an impeccable dresser, and her style screamed powerful alpha while still being feminine, with personally tailored suits, fitted blazers, button-ups in every shade imaginable, and trousers that were loose enough to be respectable but tight enough to keep things interesting. The whole aesthetic just did something to Lena that she had never really felt before.

It was a little embarrassing, honestly, how Kara could knock the air out of Lena’s lungs just by looking like _that_.

But Lena had never seen her wearing jeans, and perhaps that was even better.

Kara came downstairs wearing leather high tops and dark wash jeans that showed her curves perfectly. She was fastening the sleeves of a blue and white gingham button up, a navy necktie was tied around her throat, her blonde hair was up in a high ponytail, and a brown tweed blazer was hanging over her arm. She finished buttoning her sleeves as she hit the landing and looked up and around until her eyes fell on Lena.

“How do I look?” she asked, but there was a slight smug lilt to her voice that told Lena she had been caught staring.

Instead of answering, Lena stood and made her way toward the alpha. Kara bit her lip as Lena moved to circle her— and, yes, her ass definitely looked as good in those jeans as Lena had anticipated. Finally Lena came back around to the front and gave her another once-over.

“Not bad,” Lena told her. “Your tie could use some work, though.”

Kara’s nose wrinkled in frustration as she reached up to stroke the navy fabric. “I thought I got it right this time. Alex says I suck at tying them, she always ends up fixing them for me once I get to the office.”

“Here, let me try something,” Lena said, reaching up and loosening the knot. “Now, once I do it this way, you can’t adjust it to loosen it later, so tell me if it doesn’t feel right, okay?”

“What are you…? Oh, okay, um, feels fine.”

“I used to do this for my father, before he died,” Lena said absentmindedly as she twisted and tucked the silk. “Then I did it for my older brother. He always loved the fancy knots, but he was all thumbs when it came to tying them himself.”

“I didn’t know you had any siblings,” Kara murmured and Lena’s stomach lurched. She had said too much, but she was distracted by the sharp line of Kara’s jaw and the muscles in her neck right beneath her hands.

“Yeah, just the one brother.” Lena twisted the tail of the tie around and then tucked it to the side before folding down Kara’s collar. “There we go. See what you think.”

Kara turned toward a nearby wall mirror and her jaw fell. She reached up and traced her fingers over the silk. “How did you— Ow!”

She had started to tug at the material in curiosity, so Lena had smacked her hands away.

“Don’t ruin my masterpiece,” she warned. “It’s called a trinity knot. Do you like it?”

“Yeah, it’s awesome. I struggle with a basic Windsor knot,” Kara admitted, still admiring it.

“Well, it’s not that much harder, but it does look impressive, just because it’s a bit out of the ordinary,” Lena said. “Let me know next time you need to make a killer first impression at work and I’ll tie an Eldredge knot, very fancy.”

“I’ll do that,” Kara said with a grin. “Thanks.”

Before Lena could comment further, Kara’s phone buzzed and she looked down.

“That’s my car,” she said. “Did you get everything squared away to get some clothes?”

“Yeah, my ride should be here in a bit,” Lena replied. “Have fun at your aunt’s.”

Kara rolled her eyes. “I’ll do my best.”

And then the alpha was gone in a blur of blonde hair and spicy pheromones that made the uncomfortable buzzing beneath Lena’s skin even harder to ignore. Lena stood there for a moment before she remembered what she was supposed to be doing, and then she headed upstairs to finish getting ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anybody is curious, I am randomly posting inspiration pics behind the outfits Lena and Kara wear throughout this story on my tumblr.
> 
> Also, I have most of the next chapter finished as well (I thought it would be this chapter but then I realized I had over 6000 words and decided to split it) so it should be posted in a couple of days.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of Kara and Lena’s Saturday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot! I told you I would be posting this one soon!  
> (Oh and y’all know how I am... I hated changing Kara’s last name to something different so I changed it back. Has zero effect on the story at large, though)

Kara groaned as the car pulled up in front of her aunt’s home on the edge of National City. She could tell by the number of cars out front that her aunt had invited several guests, and she wasn’t looking forward to finding out exactly who they were.

“You really should be used to this by now,” Alex said from her seat beside Kara. She had picked up her sister on the way. Even though Alex wasn’t expected to make an appearance at these things the way Kara was, she usually went for moral support at least.

“I know, I know,” Kara sighed. “Let’s just… Get in, eat, make pleasantries, and get out as soon as possible.”

“You sound like you have something else you’d rather be doing,” Alex said speculatively and Kara wanted to curse. Leave it to her sister to be suspicious.

“No, I just really don’t feel like doing the small talk today,” she replied. “I worked all last weekend. I was hoping for a relaxing weekend at home this time.”

“Well, get used to it if you plan on being CEO,” Alex told her as they got out and approached the large house.

Astra had been married for a time when she was younger, but after Kara’s parents died and Astra stepped into a leadership role at El-Corp, that union had fizzled out. Thankfully betas didn’t form mating bonds the way alphas and omegas did; they didn’t need chemical separation, just legal divorce. But Astra had never downsized her lifestyle, so her home was far larger than what Kara thought a single beta female required. Instead of filling it with her own children, Astra used the space to host parties and gatherings of her extended family and business associates, just like today.

As Kara and Alex stepped into the foyer, they both froze as the scent of numerous omegas filled their senses. Alex’s nose wrinkled and she reached up to scratch at her mating bite, still relatively fresh after only six months.

“What the hell?” she muttered as a footman stepped up to take their coats.

“Alex, why do they all look familiar?” Kara asked, looking around at the gathering of people that stretched from the foyer, through the living and dining rooms. There were a few older couples as well, betas and mated pairs, but overall the majority of the people in attendance were omegas, and mostly omega females— as was Kara’s preference.

“Oh my god,” Alex hissed. “Kara, these are the women from Astra’s binders.”

Kara’s eyes widened. “Oh shit…”

“Kara, darling, there you are!” Astra emerged from the crowd wearing an elegant black sweater-dress. “And Alex, I’m so glad you could join us.”

Alex nodded. “Of course—“

“Aunt Astra, what is this?” Kara hissed, gesturing vaguely to the party surrounding them.

“Well, I think it’s rather obvious,” she replied. “Since you’ve shot down all of my attempts to have you mingle with single omegas one on one, I decided to bring them all together in one place to see if one would spark your interest. I know it might seem a little unconventional to you—“

“Unconventional?” Kara asked. “It’s… It’s… demeaning.”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” Astra scoffed. “It was a tradition on Krypton for well-to-do families to host parties like this to introduce their unmated members.”

“But we’re not on Krypton anymore,” Kara replied.

Astra frowned. “Yes, I’m aware. But Kara, we’re on a bit of a tight schedule here. I thought you would be grateful.”

“I… I appreciate the thought behind it, Aunt Astra, really, I do,” she said. “But I have this under control, I swear.”

“Really?” Astra replied drolly. “With what, your online dating? How many dates have you been on, Kara, honestly?”

“Well…”

“Exactly. And I’d bet my bottom dollar that none of the omegas you’ve met online have been of the same social standing as you deserve.”

Kara bristled. “You know that doesn’t matter to me.”

“Well, it should,” Astra told her with a frown. “It’s my job to protect you and make sure you make a smart match. I’m sure you could find an omega who would agree to be your mate, Kara, and even have your pups. As soon as they realize who you are and how much you’re worth, they’ll be all too willing. Give them an allowance and they’ll be happy to do whatever you like.”

Kara frowned as Astra’s words struck a nerve. But no, that wasn’t what Lena was doing. Lena had given part of the money Kara offered her to her friend, Lena had even been reluctant to accept Kara’s offer to buy her clothes.

“I know you’re an alpha and as such you want to be independent,” Astra was saying. “But trust me, Kara. Just stay for a bit, let me introduce you to some of these lovely young omegas, give them a chance.”

“Aunt Astra…” Kara began.

“For the love of Pete, Kara, just go with it,” Alex said finally. “What harm could it do?”

“Fine,” Kara groused.

“That’s my girl!” Astra declared with a laugh. “Now, smile a bit, or you’ll scare them all off.”

——

Lena stared out the window of the town car as it made its way through the streets of uptown National City. She briefly recognized the shop where Jack bought her the dress she wore on that fateful first dinner with Kara Zorel-Danvers, but it continued further, to shops the likes of which Lena hadn’t entered in since leaving the Luthors.

“Are you sure you couldn’t just take me to _Target_?” she asked, tapping her fingers against her thigh nervously.

The driver in the front seat— a petite omega who had introduced herself as Eve Teschmacher— scoffed. “You and I both know how alphas like Miss Zorel-Danvers are, Miss Kieran. She won’t settle for less than the best for her girlfriend, I guarantee it.”

Lena frowned at that. She could argue that she wasn’t _really_ Kara’s girlfriend, but that was a secret, so instead she kept her mouth shut.

“How long have you and Miss Danvers been dating?” Eve asked, then added, “If you don’t mind me asking.”

Lena bit her cheek. She had to get used to these questions, and the lies she had to tell in response. Then again, she had been lying for years, so it really wasn’t a new concept.

“We’ve been talking to each other for a few months,” she said. “But we just decided to move in together last week. Then all of my clothes got lost in the move.”

Eve nodded, keeping her eyes on the road but occasionally glancing into the rear view mirror. “I imagine this is all different from what you’re used to?”

“Yes, a bit,” Lena replied. Because it was, and it wasn’t. It was night and day different from how she had been living for the last two years, working with Jack. But it was eerily similar to how she had lived for the majority of her life before, a life she had sworn she would never go back to. It wasn’t that she didn’t miss luxury— she certainly did, and sometimes she missed it a lot. But she had sworn that she would only live that lifestyle again if she earned it on her own merits, and right now she definitely didn’t feel that she had earned it at all.

Finally Eve pulled into a parking space in front of a _Nordstrom_ store. Across the street was a _Neiman Marcus_ , and beside that was a _Saks Fifth Avenue_.

“These places should put you off to a good start,” Eve told her.

Lena sighed and rubbed her sweaty palms against her thighs. “Alright, here goes nothing.”

She stepped out of the car and stared up at the storefront, frozen in place. Even when she had lived with the Luthors she hadn’t really done her shopping herself; a personal shopper had done it for her, picking out clothes based on her— and Lillian’s— preferences. She wasn’t entirely sure to begin.

Suddenly the car engine behind her shut off and the driver door opened. Eve rounded the car and patted Lena on the back before pressing slightly, guiding her toward the doors.

“Come now, Miss Kieran, the stores aren’t open all day,” she said.

“You’ll help me?” Lena asked.

Eve sighed. “Of course, Miss Kieran. Whatever you need.”

“Thank you, Eve,” Lena told her with a soft smile. “And please, call me Lena.”

——

Kara sighed as she stepped out onto the patio, a glass of wine in her hands. She had lost track of how many she had drank, over the past three and a half hours, as her aunt had paraded her in front of dozens of unmated omegas and their families, but she was fairly certain it was too many. She only hoped that the party would wind down soon, so she could head home.

 _Home_. It was a strange thing to feel. She had never been much of a homebody, always preferring to spend her time at work or with friends. She lived out of her apartment and she took pride in its design, but it had never felt like home quite like it did now. She had never felt drawn to it like this, never felt the urge to just go home and curl up on her sofa no matter how many fuzzy blankets she kept there. But it wasn’t the plush sofa or the fuzzy blankets that she wanted to return to.

“Hello Kara.”

Kara was so startled she nearly dropped her wine glass, but instead she only sloshed it over her hand and onto the sleeve of her shirt.

“Crap,” she muttered, switching her glass to the other hand and shaking the excess wine off her skin.

“Here, let me help you.”

Kara looked up quickly as the omega approached and firmly grabbed her arm and began blotting at the stains with a napkin. She was pretty, like all the omegas Astra had gathered for her to meet, with thick brown hair that fell into her face as she dabbed at Kara’s sleeve. After a moment she looked up at Kara with wide brown eyes.

“I don’t think it’s coming out,” she sighed.

“It’s fine, um…” Kara searched her memory for the woman’s name, but she had met so many people in the last few hours that she couldn’t figure it out.

“Siobhan Smythe,” the woman supplied. “And I’m sorry for startling you.”

“Really, it’s fine, Siobhan,” Kara insisted. “I just stepped out to get some air and didn’t expect anyone else to—“

“Well, I’ll just leave you to it, then,” Siobhan said.

“No!” Kara exclaimed. “No, I mean, you clearly came out here for a break as well, and I’ve been here for long enough, I can…”

Kara made to slip past the omega and head back into the house, but a firm grip on her arm stopped her.

“Don’t go so soon,” Siobhan insisted. “There’s plenty of fresh air to go around. And besides, I didn’t come out here just for that.”

“Oh?” Kara asked as Siobhan turned toward her. She tried to back away and make more space between them, but instead she bumped into a structural column. Kara coughed and cleared her throat. “What, um, what… _Why_ did you come out here, then?”

She swallowed hard as the omega pressed in closer, until there was no space between them and no fresh air whatsoever, only the overwhelming scent of perfume mixed with omega pheromones.

“For this,” Siobhan said simply, and then she reached behind Kara’s neck and tugged her down until their lips met.

Kara had kissed and been kissed many times, some good and some bad. She remembered her first kiss, Kenny, freshman year at Midvale High, before either of them presented. When she was seventeen she broke a boy’s nose with her forehead when he kissed her. Her worst kiss was Monel, a beta boy from Krypton who thought they were meant to be together. Even Winn had kissed her, once, when they had just met, before she told him she was really more into female omegas. And then there was Lucy, and a smattering of omegas between then and now, some whose names she remembered, some she didn’t.

But never, in her history of kisses, had Kara ever kissed someone and thought of someone else. Hell, even after she broke up with someone, she didn’t kiss someone else and think of her ex. She was an in-the-moment kind of person, always focused on her current partner, even if it wasn’t anything serious.

And yet, when Siobhan’s lips touched hers, all Kara could think about was that she bet Lena’s lips would be softer.

As soon as the thought fully registered in Kara’s mind, her entire body jerked in reaction. She yanked herself free from Siobhan’s grasp, spilling her wine between the two of them in the process. Siobhan yelped and backed up immediately, looking down at the burgundy stain that was spreading over her mostly-white color-block dress.

“Oh my god!” she shouted, looking from her ruined dress to Kara and then back again, her expression quickly contorting from shock to fury.

“Sorry,” Kara said, reaching up and rubbing the lipstick residue she could feel from her mouth. “Send me a bill for the cleaning.”

With that she took off back into the house, leaving the wine-covered omega still simmering on the patio.

She could feel eyes on her as she made her way through the crowd inside, looking everywhere for her sister. She found her in the kitchen, leaned up against the island picking out more of the food the caterers had prepared. Kara dropped her wine glass in the sink and then grabbed Alex by the arm, pulling her toward the exit.

“Ow! Hey!” Alex exclaimed.

“We’re leaving,” Kara said without preamble.

“Shit, what happened to you?” Alex asked.

“I’ll explain in the car,” Kara replied as she signaled for the footman to retrieve their coats.

“Girls! Kara!”

Kara ground her teeth together as she turned toward her aunt, who was rushing toward the door and drawing all the attention toward them.

“Oh, my goodness, Kara, what a mess!” Astra exclaimed as she came closer. “But no worries, I’m sure we can find you another shirt somewhere. There’s no need for you to leave so soon.”

“So soon?” Kara hissed. “Aunt Astra, I’ve been here for almost four hours!”

“Yes, and you’re no closer to finding a mate than when you got here!” Astra hissed back. “Unless you’ve chosen a candidate or two…”

“Oh my god,” Kara muttered, rubbing her temples as the footman emerged with her coat. She grabbed it in one hand and then stepped past her aunt, addressing the crowd that was now staring at them unabashedly. “Look, the party’s over, alright? You can all go home now.”

“Kara!” Astra exclaimed.

“No, they should go,” Kara said. “I’m leaving, so there’s not much of a point in them staying, am I right?”

“Kara Zorel—“

“Goodbye, Aunt Astra,” Kara told her, pressing a kiss to her aunt’s cheek. “I’ll see you at work.”

She caught a glimpse of Alex shrugging as she stormed out the door, not caring in that moment if her sister caught up with her or not. A moment later, however, she heard familiar footsteps behind her.

“What the hell happened, Kara?” Alex demanded as Kara looked around the parked cars for her driver.

“Well, besides my aunt trying to parade me around like a prized bull,” Kara scoffed as they found her car. “I was outside getting some air and an omega by the name of Siobhan Smythe decided to introduce herself by kissing me.”

Alex blinked in surprise. “Wow, okay, yikes. I heard some of the other omegas gossiping about her, apparently she’s a real piece of work.”

“She cornered me, Alex!” Kara exclaimed. “And then she kissed me!”

“No offense, but a pretty omega kissing you doesn’t seem like the kind of thing you would normally complain about,” Alex pointed out.

Kara crossed her arms, only to drop them as it made the damp stain on her shirt more uncomfortable. “Still a violation.”

“Yes, definitely, consent is important,” Alex agreed. “I’m just saying, in the past…”

Kara huffed in frustration. “I just… It’s different this time. It was the whole set up of this party and my aunt and everything that’s going on… It feels like everything’s out of my control, Alex, and I hate it.”

“I get that,” Alex nodded, stretching an arm across the seat to wrap it around Kara’s shoulders. “And I’m sorry that it’s happening this way.”

“Me, too,” Kara replied morosely.

“But…” Alex began, “did _any_ of them spark your interest?”

“ _Alex!_ ” Kara groaned.

“What? I’m just asking!” Alex defended, grabbing Kara’s hands when she pitifully tried to smack at her. “I’m your big sister, Kara, I’m allowed to be concerned.”

“You and Astra and your _concern_.” Kara sighed. “And no, none of them sparked any interest. But, um… I may have… met someone.”

Alex immediately pulled away from her supportive hug and looked at Kara with wide eyes and brows raised almost to her hairline. “Really?”

“Oh my gosh, don’t sound so shocked.” Kara shook her head and fidgeted with the buttons on her shirt. “But, yes, really. A couple of weeks ago. We, uh, went out on a date and hung out a bit.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie. She and Lena had met almost two weeks before, and they had gone out on a date, sort of, and they did hang out… by necessity… every night… because they were actually living together…

“A couple of weeks ago! And you didn’t tell me?” Alex demanded.

“It’s new, Alex, and I don’t wanna jinx it,” Kara said. “But, I will say, I really like her.”

“Like her? Well, that’s the most I’ve gotten out of you in over five years, so I’ll take it,” Alex said. “Any chance you’ll tell me her name?”

Kara shook her head. “Nope, no jinxing.”

“Alright, then, keep your secrets,” Alex said, wiggling her brows. “But, for what it’s worth, I really hope it works out with your mystery woman.”

Kara sighed. “Yeah… Me, too.”

——

“Shit! No, dammit, not that hot… Fuck.”

Lena turned the dials on Kara’s stove frantically with one hand as she flipped the chicken in her pan with the other. She knew how to cook— she really did— she just wasn’t used to cooking on a gas stovetop like this one, and she didn’t know exactly where the sweet spot was for each pan to reach the optimal temperature. She managed to reduce the heat, after a moment, so maybe the chicken would only have one slightly burned side… maybe she could scrape it off.

“Lena?”

“I’m in the kitchen!” she shouted back, bending over to check the asparagus and fingerling potatoes that were currently roasting in the oven. A dull cramp radiated through her lower stomach as she did so, reminding her of her impending heat. She was cooking to distract herself, partly, and also as a way to repay Kara for everything she had done for her over the past few days.

“It smells so good in here,” Kara said as she entered, which must mean that the scent of burnt chicken hadn’t quite filled the air.

“Thanks. I thought since you made breakfast, I could make dinner, so I stopped by that market on the corner and— Oh my goodness, Kara, what happened to you?”

The entire front of Kara’s shirt was covered in a burgundy stain— spilled wine, clearly. She looked at Lena sheepishly, then down at her shirt.

“Yeah, um, I had a bit of an accident,” she replied.

“I’d say,” Lena replied. She stepped closer to Kara instinctively, reaching to inspect the stain further, when a saccharine scent hit her nose. Stronger than the cooking food behind her, she breathed in the heavy scent of perfume and omega pheromones that were rolling off Kara’s clothes as if the alpha had rolled in them. Lena froze and dropped her hands and Kara’s eyes widened in realization. Lena cleared her throat and turned back to the stove. “So, I take it you had fun at your aunt’s?”

“Lena…” Kara sighed, her tone a bit whiny.

“No, it’s fine,” Lena insisted. “It’s perfectly fine.”

“Obviously it’s not, or you wouldn’t be stabbing that chicken breast like it personally offended you,” Kara muttered. “My aunt invited every eligible omega she could think of and their families to a luncheon. Apparently it was a traditional method of meeting a mate on Krypton.”

“Well that’s… okay,” Lena said, trying to not say _fine_ yet again. Because it was fine. Kara wasn’t bound to her in any way, so it wasn’t like she could expect her to not look for other prospects.

“I didn’t know she was inviting them,” Kara defended.

“Why are you being defensive?” Lena asked. “It’s not like you’ve done anything wrong.”

“Haven’t I?” Kara asked.

Lena scoffed. “We’re not mated, Kara, we’re not even really dating. We both agreed that this was a business arrangement, and I was the one who insisted that we wouldn’t mate until I had conceived a pup for you. So until that point, you’re perfectly within your rights to spend time with as many omegas as you want.”

“Then why are you angry?” Kara asked.

“I am _not angry!_ ” Lena shouted, whirling and pointing her spatula toward Kara. She caught herself a moment later, dropping the spatula to her side and schooling her features.

Kara stepped forward slowly and sniffed. “You’re going into heat.”

Lena nodded. “Yes. Like, within a few hours.” She sighed. “So I’m not angry, I’m just… hormonal.”

Kara nodded thoughtfully. “I know the contract stipulated that you would have no other sexual partners, for obvious reasons. It didn’t have any specifics for me, though.”

“Exactly,” Lena said, turning back to the stove top. The flip side of her chicken breasts now had burnt spots as well… dammit.

“But I was thinking, that’s not really fair,” Kara said. “Possibly not safe, either. So I think there should be an addendum that I won’t have any other partners, as well.”

“If that’s what you want,” Lena replied.

“It is,” Kara said quickly. “I, um… It is.”

“Good,” Lena said. She could hear the rustling of Kara’s clothing, the slight shuffling of her shoes as she fidgeted uncomfortably behind her

“Well, I’m going to go change, get out of this stained shirt,” Kara said finally.

“Alright,” Lena told her. _And scrub the smell of those omegas off while you’re at it,_ she wanted to add, but she held her tongue.

Lena was almost finished plating their meal when Kara returned back downstairs. The alpha looked much softer than when she had left earlier that day— her makeup was gone, her hair was brushed out into relaxed waves, and she was wearing sweatpants and a Henley t-shirt that looked extremely soft, even from a distance. The scents from earlier were gone, replaced by the familiar alpha spice that Lena had become familiar with over the last two weeks, and it made the heat tingle beneath her skin.

“Do you want to eat in the kitchen or at the dining room table or…?” Lena began.

“I thought maybe we could just eat in the living room,” Kara said. “You know, make ourselves comfy.”

Lena nodded. “Sounds good. I’ll grab our drinks if you’ll get these plates.”

Kara nodded and did as she was told, carrying the two plates into the living room. When Lena joined her, she had placed the food on the table in front of the sofa, but she was still standing, wringing her hands nervously in front of her.

“Are you alright?” Lena asked. “Is something wrong with the food?”

“No, it’s not that,” Kara told her. “It’s about earlier, before, um…”

“Kara, I told you, it’s all fine,” Lena insisted, putting their glasses down on the table. “You can’t exactly avoid all of the omegas in the world just because I’m a hormonal mess right now. So you were around a bunch of unmated omegas, so what? It’s not like you did anything…”

“I kissed one,” Kara said quickly. “Actually, she kissed me. I didn’t… I mean…”

Lena pushed down the jealousy that flared up in her chest at the admission. Kara was clearly unhappy about whatever had happened, and she really had no claim on the alpha anyway.

“Kara, it’s…”

“Don’t say fine,” Kara barked. “Please. Because it’s not. It didn’t feel fine, knowing that you were here and we’ve made this agreement and then she kissed me.”

“Okay,” Lena replied softly. “Okay, so it’s not fine, but I’m not upset about it.”

“I am,” Kara muttered. Then she shook her head. “But, anyway, it got me thinking and I can’t stop thinking about something and I don’t want to pressure you, but…”

Lena couldn’t help the grin that tugged at the corners of her lips. Kara was the epitome of cool and confident alpha… most of the time. And then there were times when she was like this, nervous and rambling and stumbling over her words as her hands fidgeted with the hem of her t-shirt and she avoided eye contact like the plague.

“Kara,” she said softly, pulling the rambling alpha’s attention back to the present. “Just tell me what it is.”

Kara sighed. “I haven’t kissed you. _We_ haven’t kissed. Yet.”

Lena’s eyes widened and she blinked slowly, once, twice, as she processed Kara’s words. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” Kara said, physically deflating as she relaxed. “And I just thought, you know, maybe we should. Before your heat really starts and things get intense, I thought maybe we should kiss. Just to see what it’s like.”

Lena wasn’t sure the logic was completely sound, but she was intrigued. If she was honest with herself, she had definitely thought about it before, had wondered what it would be like to kiss Kara. And maybe it was a good idea to get that out of the way, to experience their first something before her heat well and truly kicked in.

“Okay,” she said, her voice little more than breathing.

Kara froze, eyes wide. “Okay?”

“Yeah,” Lena replied. “If you want to.”

“I do,” Kara said, stepping forward until they were just inches apart. Her eyes flickered down to Lena’s lips and her tongue darted out to wet her own before she looked back up into Lena’s eyes.

Lena nodded, just the barest shifting of her head, and Kara bent to kiss her.

There was a moment of hesitation, the moment their lips met, and Lena felt Kara’s body shiver against her own. But then Kara’s hand came up and cupped her jaw, holding her still as the alpha slanted her own lips just slightly. Kara’s lips were wonderfully soft, but she kissed with assurance, not too hard as to be overwhelming, but enough to send Lena’s hormone-rattled nerves into overdrive. Lena had to hold herself back, because her heat was hovering just beneath the surface and her omega instincts were urging her to taste and claim and…

When Kara pulled back, too soon for Lena’s liking, the alpha hummed with contentment and gently nuzzled the tip of her nose against Lena’s, sending little sparks of joy through her body. Lena breathed in deeply, pulling in a lungful of Kara’s scent, only further rousing her omega to want more. All she had to do was rise up on her tiptoes and…

A loud rumble sounded between them and Kara’s cheeks flushed red. Lena couldn’t help but giggle as the alpha’s stomach growled again.

“I guess we should eat before it gets cold,” she said, patting Kara’s arm affectionately.

“Yeah,” Kara agreed. She caught hold of Lena’s hand that had been patting her arm and held it as she sat down on the sofa, then pulled Lena down beside her. Normally they sat at opposite ends of the sectional, but like this they were pressed together side by side. “Is this okay?”

Lena’s omega was practically purring at the closeness. “Yeah, this is fine.”

Kara grinned happily. “So what did you cook?”

Lena shook her head. “Herb stuffed chicken, roasted asparagus and potatoes…”

——

Kara was kissing Lena again, but this time it was more than a tender press of lips against lips. Lena’s mouth was soft and hot and wet against Kara’s, and she tasted wonderful as Kara dipped her tongue inside for a taste. The scent of Lena was all around her, thick and sweet. Kara’s cock was hard as steel between their bodies as Lena’s pillowy soft breasts pressed into her own, and the omega’s legs parted around Kara’s hip until she could grind the heat between them against Kara’s thigh. All Kara could think about was sinking into that flesh, hearing Lena’s cries of pleasure as she came, and fucking into her until she knotted her omega and bit—

Kara came awake with a groan, the noise pulling her from her dream and into the real world. She opened her eyes only to find that it wasn’t so different. Lena’s body was pressed against hers in her sleep, back arched so that her breasts stroked against Kara’s, her nipples erect and on display even through the silk pajamas she had worn to bed. As for the pajama bottoms, they were already thoroughly ruined, if the soaking wet spot grinding against Kara’s thigh was any indication. And the scent…

“Oh, fuck,” Kara muttered. “Lena? Lena, baby, wake up.”

Lena shuddered awake, her body shivering as consciousness returned. She blinked in the darkness, green eyes unfocused in the pale light that came through the bedroom windows.

“Kara, wha—“ she began, only to groan as she shifted and her breasts came into contact with Kara again.

“You’re in heat,” Kara told her. “And I think it may have triggered my rut, as well.”

Lena threw her head back against the pillow. “Oh, fuck.”

Kara couldn’t help but agree. _Oh, fuck, indeed._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all know what comes next ;-)
> 
> Also, please leave comments! I love hearing your opinions!

**Author's Note:**

> Comments give me life! Also, you can find me on tumblr @emiliarowan so come yell at me and follow for sneak peaks!


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